System and method for toy adoption marketing

• US 7,618,303 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2007
• Issued: 11/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ganz
• Original Assignee: Ganz
• Inventors: Ganz, Howard
• Primary Examiner(s): Hotaling, II; John M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ahmed; Masud
• Application Number:
  US11/855,220
• Publication Number:
  US 20080026666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 795 Days
• Field of Search: 463/42, 446/175, 446/470, 705/14
• US Class Current: 446/175
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/24 Electric games; Games using electronic circuits not otherwise provided for video games A63F13/00; computerized gaming systems G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/36 Details; Accessories
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

A method that provides a virtual presentation including: registering a first registration code for at a product on a website, viewing a virtual replica of the product responsive to a successful registration, accessing a first subset of restricted content responsive to the successful registration, and receiving an additional subset of restricted content when a second registration code is registered by a same user. The first subset includes at least one of: a virtual room, virtual currency, virtual food, a furnishing for the virtual room, and a chat function. The additional subset of restricted content includes at least one of the following: access to additional virtual currency, access to an additional furnishing, access to an additional chat room, access to additional food, access to an additional game, access to an additional challenge, access to an additional room, and access to an additional activity.

Claims

1. A method that provides a virtual presentation comprising:

registering a first registration code for a first product on a website;

responsive to a successful registration of said first product on the website, using a computer for displaying on said website, for viewing by a user, a virtual replica of the first product, where said virtual replica resembles said first product and does not resemble at least one other product that is registered on said website;

associating said virtual replica with a control of said user responsive to said successful registration, and controlling said virtual replica on said website based on said registration;

based on said registration, also viewing at least one other virtual replicas on said website that are not associated with said first registration code and which are associated with a friend of said user;

using said computer for providing, for access by said user, a chat function between said virtual replica and at least one said other replicas on the website responsive to the successful registration, said chat function that includes selecting from a displayed set, where the displayed set includes pre-scripted phrases for communicating with said friend, said friend viewing one of said other virtual replicas that are replicas of another product other than the first product, that also exists in the virtual presentation, wherein selections from the chat function are limited to containing selections from the displayed set and are prohibited from containing content entered by said user that is not in the displayed set; and

providing, for access by said user, additional content beyond said chat function, for said first product when at least a second registration code is registered on the website by said user who registered said first registration code, wherein the additional content comprises access to additional resources of the website beyond the resources provided by said registration of said first registration code.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing periodic rewards that facilitate encouraging users to visit the website.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the periodic rewards comprise at least one of virtual currency and a piece of a puzzle.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing, for access by said user, a bonus environment upon completing a series of adventures or challenges, wherein the bonus environment comprises at least one of the following:

multi-user activities, multi-user adventures or challenges, multi-user games, and a user-chat interface.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the registration provides a virtual room designated for the first virtual replica of the first product and an amount of virtual currency.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing content on the website for access by said user for adopting and caring for the first virtual replica of the first product presented in the virtual presentation, wherein adopting and caring for the first virtual replica of the first product comprises maintaining at least one of a health and happiness of the first virtual replica of the first product via at least one maintenance activity which includes feeding the first virtual replica of the first product, shopping for the first virtual replica of the first product, and playing with the first virtual replica of the first product.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein said displayed set includes a symbol chat with preset icons, rather than general text chat, to protect children from inappropriate language.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein said displayed set includes both of prescripted phrases and chat symbols.

7. A method that provides a virtual presentation on a computer comprising:

associating a first set of features comprising at least one feature of a website with a first code;

providing to a first user a first product including a first toy having the first code associated therewith;

validating the first code;

granting access to the first set of features of the website in response to the validating of the first code, said first set of features including a feature controlling interacting with a first virtual replica of the first product;

associating at least a second set of features of the website with a second code;

offering to a second user a second product having the second code associated therewith;

validating the second code;

granting access to said at least the second set of features of the website in response to validating the second code, wherein at least a subset of the second set of features is different from the first set of features;

displaying on said website, for viewing by said second user, a second virtual replica of the second product on the website in response to the validating the second code;

displaying the first virtual replica and the second virtual replica together in a virtual room, wherein the first virtual replica interacts with the second virtual replica in the virtual room; and

providing a chat function in the virtual room that comprises receiving from the first user a selection from a displayed set that includes pre-scripted phrases, and transmitting to the second user a chat message comprising only a phrase corresponding to the selection, said chat message comprising displaying both said first virtual replica and said second virtual replica.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first set of features comprises a virtual room designated for the first virtual replica of the first product and an amount of virtual currency.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the second set of features of the website comprises bonuses including at least one of additional games and additional virtual rooms.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising providing content on the website for access by said user for adopting and caring for the first virtual replica of the first product presented in the virtual presentation, wherein adopting and caring for the first virtual replica of the first product comprises maintaining at least one of a health and happiness of the first virtual replica of the first product via at least one maintenance activity which includes feeding the first virtual replica of the first product, shopping for the first virtual replica of the first product, and playing with the first virtual replica of the first product.

11. The method of claim 7 further comprising providing periodic rewards that facilitate encouraging users to visit the website.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the periodic rewards comprise at least one of virtual currency and a piece of a puzzle.

13. The method of claim 7 further comprising accessing a bonus environment upon completing a series of adventures or challenges, wherein the bonus environment comprises at least one of the following:

multi-user activities, multi-user adventures or challenges, multi-user games, and a user-chat interface.

23. The method of claim 7, wherein said chat message also includes a symbol chat with preset icons, that is other than general text chat.

27. The method of claim 7, wherein said chat message also includes a symbol chat with preset icons, rather than general text chat, to protect children from inappropriate language.

14. A method that provides a virtual presentation comprising:

associating a first set of features comprising at least one feature of a website with a first code that is associated with a first product;

validating the first code on the website using a computer on the website;

granting access to the first set of features of the website in response to the validating of the first code, the first set of features including displaying and interacting with a first virtual replica of the first product;

associating at least a second set of features of the website with a second code that is associated with a second product;

validating the second code on the website using the computer on the website;

granting access to said at least the second set of features of the website in response to the validating the second code, said second set of features including viewing a second virtual replica of the second product on the website, wherein the first and second virtual replicas interact with each other in a virtual room on the website, wherein the first and second virtual replicas are visible to each other while both are in the virtual room; and

providing a chat function in said virtual room that receives from a first user a selection from a displayed set that includes pre-scripted phrases, and transmitting to a second user message content that includes only a phrase corresponding to the selection.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first set of features comprises a virtual room designated for the first virtual replica of the first product and an amount of virtual currency and wherein the second set of features of the website comprises bonuses including at least one of an additional game, an additional virtual room, and additional virtual currency.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising providing periodic rewards that facilitate encouraging users to visit the website.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the periodic rewards comprise at least one of virtual currency and a piece of a puzzle.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising accessing a bonus environment upon completing a series of adventures or challenges, wherein the bonus environment comprises at least one of the following:

multi-user activities, multi-user adventures or challenges, multi-user games, and a user-chat interface.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising providing content on the website for access by said user for adopting and caring for the first virtual replica of the first product presented in the virtual presentation, wherein adopting and caring for the first virtual replica of the first product comprises maintaining at least one of a health and happiness of the first virtual replica of the first product via at least one maintenance activity which includes feeding the first virtual replica of the first product, shopping for the first virtual replica of the first product, and playing with the first virtual replica of the first product.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the second set of features of the website comprises bonuses including at least one of additional games and additional virtual rooms.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the chat function is provided when the first and second virtual replicas are visible to each other while both are in the virtual room belonging to either the first or the second virtual replica.

22. A method as in claim 14, wherein the virtual room belongs to one of the virtual replicas.

24. A system comprising:

a web server, including a computer accepting registration of multiple products by accepting a code that uniquely represents a product, where a first registration code represents a first product, said web server producing a virtual replica of the first product on a website for a first user responsive to a successful registration of said first registration code, said web server controlling said virtual replica with a user control responsive to said successful registration, and said web server producing outputs for viewing at least one of other virtual replicas on said website, wherein said at least one other virtual replica is not associated with said first registration code and is associated with a friend of said first user;

said web server producing a chat function between said virtual replica and at least one of said other replicas on the website responsive to the successful registration, said chat function includes selecting from a displayed set, where the displayed set includes at least one of pre-scripted phrases and chat symbols in order to communicate with said friend, said friend viewing one of said other virtual replicas that are replicas of another product other than the at least one product, that also exists on the website,

said web server limiting selections by the chat function to containing selections from the displayed set and said web server prohibiting said selection from containing content entered by a user that is not in the displayed set; and

said web server providing additional content beyond said chat function for said first product when at least a second registration code is registered on the website by said first user who registered said first registration code, wherein the additional content comprises access to additional resources of the website beyond the resources provided by said registration of said first registration code.