System and method for toy adoption and marketing

• US 7,967,657 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2008
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ganz
• Original Assignee: Ganz
• Inventors: Ganz, Howard
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed; Masud
• Application Number:
  US12/265,120
• Publication Number:
  US 20090063282A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: 446/175, 446/470, 463/42, 705/14, 705/16, 705/27, 715/706
• 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 computer system provides a virtual world. The computer system includes a server subsystem serving virtual world data, via a communication network, and receives data and/or commands. A registration subsystem, coupled to the server subsystem, verifies information from a toy, registers the toy, and determines a quantity of toys registered by a user who is registering the toy. The verifying includes determining the validity of the information. A virtual world providing subsystem, coupled to the server subsystem, provides the virtual world data, which produces data that presents the virtual world. The virtual world data includes a virtual toy representing the toy and a reward provided to the user for registering the toy. The reward is based on the quantity of toys previously registered by the user, such that the reward received for registering the toy is different than another reward previously received by the user for registering another toy.

Claims

1. A computer system for providing a virtual world, the computer system comprising:

a server subsystem serving virtual world data, via the Internet, and receiving a registration code provided with a toy;

a storage subsystem, associated with said server subsystem, storing data relating to a plurality of registration codes, said plurality of registration codes corresponding to a plurality of toys, wherein said toy is one of the plurality of toys;

a registration subsystem, associated with said server subsystem, verifying said registration code against the data relating to the plurality of registration codes, and registering said toy to a user 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 in a form that can be used by a browser application, wherein

the virtual world data represents data that presents the virtual world to the user, wherein

the virtual world data 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 than other rewards, where said other rewards are 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, 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 wherein said plurality of activities allows using said extra rewards as part of said plurality of activities.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein said storage subsystem includes a database of all valid registration codes.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein said registration subsystem also uses an additional registration code to register an additional toy as one of said quantity of toys registered by said user.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein said registration subsystem provides a first reward for registering said toy, and provides a second reward for registering said additional toy.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein said second reward has a greater value in the virtual world than a value of said first reward in the virtual world.

6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein each of said first and second rewards are virtual cash, and said second reward is a greater amount of virtual cash than said first reward.

7. A computer system for providing a virtual world, the computer system comprising:

a server subsystem serving virtual world data, via the Internet, and receiving a registration code provided with a toy;

a storage subsystem, coupled to said server subsystem, storing data relating to a plurality of registration codes, said plurality of registration codes corresponding to a plurality of toys, wherein said toy is one of the plurality of toys;

a registration subsystem, coupled to said server subsystem, verifying said registration code against the data relating to the plurality of registration codes, and registering said toy to a user 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, coupled to said server subsystem, for providing the virtual world data in a form that can be used by a browser application, wherein

the virtual world data presents the 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 a greater reward for multiple toys being registered by the user than would be obtained from each of the multiple toys being registered individually by different users and wherein

the virtual world data provides a plurality of activities for the user and the virtual toy to participate in via interactions, 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 wherein said plurality of activities allows using said greater reward as part of said plurality of activities.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein said storage subsystem includes a database of all valid registration codes.

9. The computer system of claim 7, wherein said registration subsystem also uses an additional registration code to register an additional toy as one of said quantity of toys registered by said user.

10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein said registration subsystem provides a first reward for registering said toy, and provides a second reward for registering said additional toy.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein said second reward has a greater value in the virtual world than said first reward.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein each of said first and second rewards are virtual cash, and said second reward is a greater amount of virtual cash than said first reward.

13. A computer system for providing a virtual world to a user, the computer system comprising:

A computer server serving virtual world data, via a communication network, and for receiving one or both of data and commands;

said computer server storing data relating to a plurality of registration codes, said plurality of registration codes corresponding to a plurality of a physical product, wherein said physical product is one of the plurality of physical product;

said computer server verifying the physical product, registering said physical product to a user responsive to said verifying, and determining a quantity of physical products registered by said user, wherein the verifying includes determining a validity of said physical product; and

said computer server providing the virtual world data, wherein the virtual world data is for use to present the virtual world to the user, and wherein the virtual world includes a virtual character and the virtual world includes a reward provided to the user for registering said physical product, and wherein

said computer server also operates, responsive to said determining the quantity of physical products registered by said user, to provide said reward as a first reward to a user who has only one physical product registered and as a second reward, greater than said first reward, to a user who has a predetermined quantity of physical products registered, the predetermined quantity being greater than one;

the virtual world provides a plurality of activities for the user and the physical product to participate in, the plurality of activities including all of virtually decreasing a virtual hunger of the physical product, playing with the physical product, and virtually purchasing virtual items for a virtual room in the virtual world using virtual cash, said virtually decreasing hunger providing virtual information indicative of virtual food to the physical product in the virtual world, and wherein said plurality of activities allows using said extra rewards as part of said plurality of activities.

14. Computer system of claim 13, wherein the first reward comprises a first quantity of virtual cash, and wherein the second reward comprises a second quantity of virtual cash that is greater than the first quantity of virtual cash.

15. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the second reward is more valuable than the first reward.

16. The computer system of claim 13, wherein said verifying said physical product comprises verifying a code that is associated with said physical product.