System and method for toy adoption and marketing

• US 20060100018A1
• Filed: 12/30/2004
• Published: 05/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GANZ An Ontario Partnership Consisting of SH GANZ Holdings Incorporated and 816877 Ontario Limited
• Original Assignee: Ganz
• Inventors: Ganz, Howard
• Granted Patent: US 7,677,948 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/36 Details; Accessories
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/00 Other toys
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

An Entertainment System in combination with a commercially purchased toy, wherein the system allows a toy user to register the toy online using a registration code, allowing the user access to various entertainment activities and scenarios in a “virtual world” including a virtual representation of the toy, via a computer connected to the Internet. The system then encourages the user to purchase additional toys to enjoy additional benefits using the Entertainment System. The Entertainment System including a database subsystem, a registration subsystem, a server subsystem, and a virtual world providing subsystem.

Claims

1. An entertainment system for providing a virtual world for user entertainment, comprising:

a storage subsystem for storing data relating to a plurality of registration codes, each of said registration codes corresponding to one of a plurality of toys;

a server subsystem for serving content, via a communication network, to a user computer, and for receiving one of said registration codes transmitted from the user computer via one or both of the communication network and an additional communication network;

a registration subsystem for verifying said one of said registration codes against said data relating to said plurality of registration codes, and subsequently registering the toy corresponding to said one of said registration codes in said system after said verifying; and

a virtual world providing subsystem for providing virtual world data for including in said content, wherein

said virtual world data is for use by the user computer to present a virtual world to the user, and wherein

said virtual world includes a virtual toy representing the toy.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said content served to the user computer is served to a browser application executing on the user computer capable of displaying web pages including html code.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein one of the communication network and the additional communication network is the Internet.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said one of said registration codes is printed on a tag attached to the toy at the time of sale, and wherein said registration code is entered into the user computer by a user typing said registration code into the user computer by utilizing the browser application, and then submitting said registration code to said server subsystem via the Internet.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said virtual world provides a plurality of activities for the user to participate in via interactions with the user computer.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said virtual toy virtually participates in one or more of said plurality of activities in said virtual world via said interactions.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said plurality of activities include virtually feeding said virtual toy and the user playing with said virtual toy.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein said plurality of activities include playing with said virtual toy along with an additional virtual toy representing an additional toy registered by an additional user via interactions by the additional user with an additional user computer.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein said plurality of activities include playing with said virtual toy along with an additional virtual toy representing an additional toy registered by the user.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of activities include one or more of the following activities:

providing a virtual medical checkup for said virtual toy;

playing a game;

virtually purchasing virtual furnishings for a virtual room in said virtual world using virtual cash;

virtually furnishing said virtual room in said virtual world;

virtually purchasing virtual food for said virtual toy using said virtual cash;

virtually feeding said virtual toy;

playing with said virtual toy;

playing with said virtual toy along with an additional virtual toy representing an additional toy registered by an additional user via interactions by the additional user with an additional user computer;

virtually adding an additional virtual room in said virtual world; and

chatting with the additional user using the user computer and the additional user computer.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said virtual toy virtually participates in one or more of said activities in said virtual world via said interactions.

12. The system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of activities include all of:

providing a virtual medical checkup for said virtual toy;

playing a game;

virtually purchasing virtual furnishings for a virtual room in said virtual world using virtual cash;

virtually furnishing said virtual room in said virtual world;

virtually purchasing virtual food for said virtual toy using said virtual cash;

virtually feeding said virtual toy;

playing with said virtual toy;

playing with said virtual toy along with an additional virtual toy representing an additional toy registered by an additional user via interactions by the additional user with an additional user computer;

virtually adding an additional virtual room in said virtual world; and

chatting with the additional user using the user computer and the additional user computer.

13. The system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of activities include providing a virtual medical checkup for said virtual toy.

14. The system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of activities include virtually purchasing virtual furnishings for a virtual room in said virtual world using virtual cash.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said plurality of activities include virtually furnishing said virtual room in said virtual world using said virtual furnishings.

16. The system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of activities include virtually furnishing a virtual room in said virtual world.

17. The system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of activities include virtually purchasing virtual food for said virtual toy, using said virtual cash, for virtually feeding to said virtual toy in said virtual world.

18. The system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of activities include virtually adding a virtual room in said virtual world.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein said data relating to a plurality of registration codes includes said plurality of registration codes.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of toys is offered for sale or sold by a retail establishment and wherein said registration code is packaged with the toy.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein

said one of said registration codes is electronically stored in a storage device attached to, or embedded in, the toy, and wherein

said registration code is automatically entered into the user computer by utilizing a reading device for reading said electronically stored registration code from the storage device, the reading device being included in, or connected to, the user computer, and wherein

the user computer thereafter submits said registration code to said server subsystem via the communication network or the additional communication network.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein said storage device is an RF tag, a USB key, or a Bluetooth wireless device.

23. An entertainment system for providing a virtual world for user entertainment, comprising:

a storage subsystem for storing data relating to a plurality of registration codes, each of said registration codes corresponding to one of a plurality of toys;

a server subsystem for serving content, via a public communication network, to a user computer, said server subsystem also for receiving one of said registration codes transmitted from the user computer via one or both of the public communication network and an additional public communication network, wherein said one of said registration codes was included with the one of said plurality of toys to which it corresponds at the time the toy was purchased;

a registration subsystem for verifying said one of said registration codes against said data relating to said plurality of registration codes, and subsequently registering the toy corresponding to said one of said registration codes in said system after said verifying; and

a virtual world providing subsystem for providing virtual world data for including in said content, wherein

said virtual world data is for use by the user computer to present a virtual world to the user, and wherein

said virtual world includes a virtual toy representing the toy, and further wherein

said virtual world provides a plurality of activities for the user to participate in through user interactions with the user computer over one or both of the public communication network and the additional public communication network, and still further wherein

said virtual toy participates in one or more of said plurality of activities in said virtual world via said interactions.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein said one of said registration codes is printed on a tag attached to the toy at the time of sale, and wherein said registration code is entered into the user computer by a user typing said registration code into the user computer, and then submitting said registration code to said server subsystem via the public communication network.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein said plurality of activities include two or more of the following activities:

providing a virtual medical checkup for said virtual toy;

playing a game;

virtually purchasing virtual furnishings for a virtual room in said virtual world using virtual cash;

virtually furnishing said virtual room in said virtual world;

virtually purchasing virtual food for said virtual toy using said virtual cash;

virtually feeding said virtual toy;

playing with said virtual toy;

playing with said virtual toy along with an additional virtual toy representing an additional toy registered by an additional user via interactions by the additional user with an additional user computer;

virtually adding an additional virtual room in said virtual world; and

chatting with the additional user using the user computer and the additional user computer.

26. An entertainment system for providing a virtual world for entertainment of a user of a toy, comprising:

a server subsystem for serving content, via a communication network, to a user computer, and for receiving one or both of data and commands from the user computer;

a registration subsystem for verifying and then registering the toy, wherein said verifying includes determining a validity of the toy, and wherein said registering is for allowing the user to access a restricted portion of the Entertainment System; and

a virtual world providing subsystem for providing virtual world data for including in said content, wherein

said virtual world data is for use by the user computer to present a virtual world to the user, and wherein

said virtual world includes a virtual toy representing the toy.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein said virtual world provides a plurality of activities for the user to participate in via interactions with the user computer.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein said plurality of activities include two or more of the following activities:

providing a virtual medical checkup for said virtual toy;

playing a game;

virtually purchasing virtual furnishings for a virtual room in said virtual world using virtual cash;

virtually furnishing said virtual room in said virtual world;

virtually purchasing virtual food for said virtual toy using said virtual cash;

virtually feeding said virtual toy;

playing with said virtual toy;

playing with said virtual toy along with an additional virtual toy representing an additional toy registered by an additional user via interactions by the additional user with an additional user computer;

virtually adding an additional virtual room in said virtual world; and

chatting with the additional user using the user computer and the additional user computer.

29. An entertainment system for providing a virtual world for user entertainment for the user of a toy, comprising:

a storage subsystem for storing data relating to a plurality of registration codes, each of said registration codes corresponding to one of a plurality of toys each for sale or sold by retail stores, wherein the toy is one of said plurality of toys that has been sold by one of the retail stores for use by the user;

a server subsystem for serving content, via the Internet, to a browser application executing on a user computer, said server subsystem also for receiving said registration code corresponding to the toy, said registration code being transmitted from the user computer via the Internet, wherein said registration code was packaged with the toy and thereby present at the time the toy was sold;

a registration subsystem for verifying said registration code against said data relating to the plurality of registration codes, and subsequently registering the toy in said system after said verifying, and wherein said registering is for allowing the user to access a restricted portion of the Entertainment System; and

a virtual world providing subsystem for providing virtual world data for including in said content, wherein

said virtual world data is for use by the application to present a virtual world to the user, and wherein

said virtual world includes a virtual toy representing the toy, and further wherein

said virtual world provides a plurality of activities for the user to participate in through user interactions with the user computer communicating over the Internet, wherein said plurality of activities include a plurality of;

playing a game;

virtually purchasing virtual furnishings for a virtual room in said virtual world using virtual cash;

virtually furnishing said virtual room in said virtual world;

virtually purchasing virtual food for said virtual toy using said virtual cash;

virtual adding another virtual room in said virtual world; and

chatting with an additional user using an additional user computer via the Internet, and still further wherein

said virtual toy can virtually participate in one or more additional activities in said virtual world, said additional activities including one or more of;

virtually feeding said virtual toy;

providing a virtual medical checkup for said virtual toy;

the user playing with said virtual toy; and

the user playing with said virtual toy along with an additional virtual toy representing an additional toy registered by an additional user via interactions by the additional user with an additional user computer via the Internet.