Secure authorization and control method and apparatus for a game delivery service

A communications system for the delivery of digital data programs to a remote location, said system comprising:

• a control system for transmitting a signal comprising said digital data programs and authorization transactions, said authorization transactions including identifier data corresponding to one or more of said digital data programs, load phase data, and memory slot data;
• and
• a communications terminal located at said remote location, said communications terminal including:
• a memory for storing an authorization table for authorizing said communications terminal to access authorized ones of said digital data programs, said authorization table including a plurality of memory slots, each slot including a first field for storing load phase data and a second field for storing identifier data;
• and
• a control circuit for processing said authorization transactions using said memory slot data to access one of said memory slots of said authorization table, wherein said identifier data is loaded into the corresponding memory slot (1) if identifier data currently stored in the corresponding memory slot corresponds to the identifier data in the processed authorization transaction and load phase data currently stored in the corresponding memory slot differs from the load phase data in the processed authorization transaction or (2) if identifier data currently stored in the corresponding memory slot differs from the identifier data in the processed authorization transaction.

A method of providing video game program services from a central service center to a plurality of remotely located communications terminals, wherein each video game program service comprises one or more video game programs, the method comprising:

• a first step of transmitting from said central service center a signal including video game program data;
• a second step of transmitting from said central service center a first authorization transaction for defining first video game program services which are accessible to all of said communications terminals for predetermined periods of program access time;
• and
• a third step of transmitting from said central service center second authorization transactions, each second authorization transaction being respectively addressed to a corresponding communications terminal and defining second additional video game program services which are accessible to the respective corresponding communication terminal for variable periods of program access time.