AUG. 9, 2011 • InComm is rolling out Sony’s PlayStation Network Card to 13,000 retail locations in Japan. The cards come in ¥3,000 ($39), ¥5,000 ($65), and ¥10,000 ($130). The value of the cards are transferred to the user’s PlayStation Network wallet by entering the 12-digit number.

Impact: In a challenging financial era, credit cards become less attractive to budget conscious consumers. Pre-paid cards are already very popular in the rest of the world, but we think there is probably a large swath of North American consumers who will take to the option as the recession continues unabated, and free-to-play offerings become more abundant.