System and method for toy adoption and marketing
First Claim
1. A toy for utilizing a computer system for providing a virtual world to a user of said toy, the computer system comprising:
- a server subsystem serving virtual world data, via the Internet, to a user computer, and receiving a registration code provided with said toy from the user computer;
a storage subsystem storing data relating to a plurality of registration codes, said registration codes corresponding to said plurality of toys, wherein said toy is one of the plurality of toys;
a registration subsystem verifying said registration code against the data relating to the plurality of registration codes, and registering said toy in the system responsive to said verifying, said registration subsystem also determining a quantity of toys registered by said user, wherein the verifying includes determining a validity of said registration code; and
a virtual world providing subsystem for providing the virtual world data to a browser application executing on the user computer and capable of displaying web pages, whereinthe virtual world data is for use by the user computer to present a virtual world to the user, whereinthe virtual world includes a virtual toy representing said toy and a reward that is based on said quantity of toys registered by said user, where said reward includes extra rewards for more toys being registered, where said extra rewards are greater rewards than rewards that would be obtained from registering said toys individually and whereinthe virtual world data provides a plurality of activities for the user and the virtual toy to participate in via interactions with the user computer, the plurality of activities including all of virtually feeding the virtual toy, playing with the virtual toy, virtually purchasing virtual furnishings for a virtual room in the virtual world using virtual cash, and virtually purchasing virtual food for the virtual toy using the virtual cash for virtually feeding to the virtual toy in the virtual world and said activities allow using said extra rewards as part of said activities.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
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.
230 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A toy for utilizing a computer system for providing a virtual world to a user of said toy, the computer system comprising:
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a server subsystem serving virtual world data, via the Internet, to a user computer, and receiving a registration code provided with said toy from the user computer; a storage subsystem storing data relating to a plurality of registration codes, said registration codes corresponding to said plurality of toys, wherein said toy is one of the plurality of toys; a registration subsystem verifying said registration code against the data relating to the plurality of registration codes, and registering said toy in the system responsive to said verifying, said registration subsystem also determining a quantity of toys registered by said user, wherein the verifying includes determining a validity of said registration code; and a virtual world providing subsystem for providing the virtual world data to a browser application executing on the user computer and capable of displaying web pages, wherein the virtual world data is for use by the user computer to present a virtual world to the user, wherein the virtual world includes a virtual toy representing said toy and a reward that is based on said quantity of toys registered by said user, where said reward includes extra rewards for more toys being registered, where said extra rewards are greater rewards than rewards that would be obtained from registering said toys individually and wherein the virtual world data provides a plurality of activities for the user and the virtual toy to participate in via interactions with the user computer, the plurality of activities including all of virtually feeding the virtual toy, playing with the virtual toy, virtually purchasing virtual furnishings for a virtual room in the virtual world using virtual cash, and virtually purchasing virtual food for the virtual toy using the virtual cash for virtually feeding to the virtual toy in the virtual world and said activities allow using said extra rewards as part of said activities. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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2. A toy for utilizing a computer system for providing a virtual world to a user of said toy, the computer system comprising:
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a server subsystem serving virtual world data, 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 verifying said toy, registering said toy responsive to said verifying, and determining a quantity of toys registered by said user, wherein the verifying includes determining a validity of said toy; and a virtual world providing subsystem providing the virtual world data, wherein the virtual world data is for use by the user computer to present a virtual world to the user, and wherein the virtual world includes a virtual toy representing said toy and a reward provided to the user for registering said toy, where said reward is based on the quantity of toys previously registered by said user, such that the reward received for registering said toy is different than another reward previously received by the user for registering another toy, wherein said virtual world providing subsystem also operates, responsive to said determining a quantity of toys registered by said user, to provide a first reward to a user who has only one toy registered, and a second reward, greater than said first reward, to a user who has more than one toy registered. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12)
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8. A toy for utilizing a computer system for providing a virtual world to a user of said toy, the computer system comprising:
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a server subsystem serving virtual world data, via the Internet, to a user computer, and receiving a registration code provided with said toy from the user computer; a storage subsystem storing data relating to a plurality of registration codes, each of the registration codes corresponding to one of a plurality of toys, wherein said toy is one of the plurality of toys; a registration subsystem verifying said registration code against the data relating to the plurality of registration codes, registering said toy in the computer system responsive to said verifying, and determining a quantity of toys registered by said user, wherein the verifying includes determining a validity of said toy; and a virtual world providing subs y stem for providing the virtual world data to a browser application executing on the user computer and capable of displaying web pages, wherein the virtual world data is for use by the user computer to present a virtual world to the user, wherein the virtual world includes a virtual toy representing said toy and wherein said computer system provides a reward that is based on the quantity of toys registered by said user, where said reward includes extra rewards for more toys being registered than would be obtained from registering said toys individually and wherein the virtual world provides a plurality of activities for the user and the virtual toy to participate in via interactions with the user computer, the plurality of activities including all of virtually feeding the virtual toy, playing with the virtual toy, virtually purchasing virtual furnishings for a virtual room in the virtual world using virtual cash, and virtually purchasing virtual food for the virtual toy using the virtual cash for virtually feeding to the virtual toy in the virtual world and said activities allow using said extra rewards as p art of said activities, wherein said virtual world providing subsystem also operates, responsive to said determining a quantity of toys registered by said user, to provide a first reward to a user who has only one toy registered, and a second reward, greater than said first reward, to a user who has more than one toy registered.
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Specification