Mobage locks your Marvel: War of Heroes account to a single device

Social networks are all about getting people to register.

But, as players of the new wave of card-battling games on the Mobage platform will have experienced, one registration is not enough.

Instead, in games such as Marvel: War of Heroes, players will be asked if they also want to register their device.

If they don't register, they can continue to play as unregistered players, but they don't "Receive rewards for defeating the Super Villain", "Receive rewards for finishing the tutorial", can't purchase certain items, nor use the Rally card packs.

What's really interested about this additional security measure, however, is that it locks your account to a single device.

In the case of Marvel: War of Heroes, this isn't such a big restriction as the game is only available for iPhone/iPod touch, not iPad.

It is available for Android devices, though, so device registration may impact some players who want to play cross-platform.

But what's even more peculiar is that once you've registered your device, you can't reset or unregister it - something that will annoy players looking to upgrade their device, and something that may limits the game's longevity.

As for the precise reason that Mobage has such terms, the official statement is that it's "to prevent a user from trading cards across multiple accounts".

"It ensures that there's a level playing field for all players and that everyone has a great experience without any unfair advantages," we were told.