Although it isn't official, the guys over at PS3 Fanboy put
two and two together and figured out pre-paid PlayStation Network cards are coming to retail in the States. They came to the conclusion after Sony sent them Christmas greetings with the pre-paid card you see above inside the envelope. "Well, that just means there are pre-paid cards, it doesn't mean it's coming to retail," says the Grinch commenter in the back. Yeah, that may be true, but then the line on the top of the card would be a little silly: No value until activated at register.
Sony announced the pre-paid cards would be
available in Japan back in May, but there was no statement for North America. We'll check in with Sony now to see if the company would like to update its statement and say when the cards will be at retail.
{ Dec 13th 2007 at 6:30PM } 
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Dec 13th 2007 6:41PM
Wait wait wait wait wait....
Sony didn't have these cards available the whole time?
Trickob @ Dec 13th 2007 6:45PM
don't forget to read to the fine print on the back
"expires 12/31/02"
etoychest @ Dec 13th 2007 6:51PM
Actually, it says "Expires 3/31/08". You can see more shots of the card here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/21683516@N08/
DemonGSides @ Dec 13th 2007 6:58PM
Sarcasm; lost in the sea of the internet forever.
XanthouS @ Dec 13th 2007 6:50PM
'Bout time. Allowing the use of straight-up credit cards is awesome, but it's almost important to cater to gamers who don't have access to one.
F-Forward @ Dec 13th 2007 6:50PM
I guess that these cards are infinitely more worth than Microsoft point-cards?
gonk @ Dec 13th 2007 8:22PM
lol
but on a serious note, i wonder if you'll be able to buy these cards for deals like you can sometimes find for the billybucks cards, or since they have an actual dollar amount on them they'll never be on sale for cheaper
ThornedVenom @ Dec 13th 2007 6:57PM
Such cards have always been a great solution for teenagers.
Joshua @ Dec 13th 2007 6:58PM
Yes, FINALLY! Now I might start buying PSN stuff.
deaftly @ Dec 13th 2007 7:03PM
# November 2007 Hardware Sales PlayStation 2 -- 496,000
# PlayStation 3 -- 466,000
# PlayStation Portable -- 567,000
# Xbox 360 -- 770,000
# Wii -- 981,000
# Nintendo DS -- 1,530,000
XanthouS @ Dec 13th 2007 7:06PM
And your contribution to society is...?
DemonGSides @ Dec 13th 2007 7:07PM
Twice that of yours.
XanthouS @ Dec 13th 2007 7:16PM
Jumping on the "Bash Sony" bandwagon takes some serious courage.
Sean D. @ Dec 13th 2007 7:55PM
Who's bashing Sony? I just see some data. Sony's combined sales totals equal almost that of the Nintendo DS. Both Sony and Nintendo are smoking Microsoft in total units sold. Looks like it's favoring Sony to me.
finnith @ Dec 13th 2007 8:04PM
@Sean
That only occurs if (like SDF) you lump PSP and PS3 sales together, which is completely unfair due to the fact that Microsoft only has one console in production as of this moment and according to knowledge.
In terms of console sales, it's like it's been for the last while:First is Wii, second is 360 and last is PS3.
BLinn @ Dec 13th 2007 8:52PM
Since people see it fit to say sony is being stupid with their 10 year plan then i think its ok to combine PS2 and PS3 sales to trash MS since MS also have the discontinued Xbox original. PS2 sales serve as good back up until PS3 stands firmly. Thats being smart, its all about the long term goals.
Leobebes @ Dec 13th 2007 7:11PM
Hey look its Sony playing catch up! Cute...
deaftly @ Dec 13th 2007 7:17PM
who's bashing sony? i
Mr Khan @ Dec 13th 2007 7:32PM
Certainly one field where Sony's service is superior, using real money instead of the easily-converted-but-still-dumb Wii points and the totally arbitrary MS points
iofthestorm @ Dec 13th 2007 11:14PM
Well I think one reason is so that they can have identical "prices" for different regions but shaft some regions with a different price per points. With the PSN I assume it's a bit more apparent when there are price differences, although honestly I think the regions that usually get shafted by ridiculous prices (Europe) are used to that sort of thing, and that's only if you actually bother to look up prices in other regions online or something. I guess the points thing lets you use bigger numbers so you feel better? 2000 Wii points vs. $20, even though it's worth the same it does look bigger and even though you may not notice it subconsciously it does affect your perceptions.
Blue_Falcon @ Dec 13th 2007 7:48PM
If I had a PS3 or PSP, I honestly wouldn't even look at the PS Store until they started making retail cards like this available.
Honestly, I don't think there is any reason NOT to have this kind of thing.