Playfish Cash Cards at Walgreens

Tags: casual games, Pet Society, Playfish, Playfish Cash, Social games, Virtual Currency, virtual goods, Walgreens

Holy moley! Playfish Cash Cards are now available at Walgreens in the United States. The next time you pick up your meds, shampoo or toothpaste, you can treat yourself to either a $10 or $25 card, good for buying Playfish Cash.

This is a HUGE development for Playfish and the social games industry overall. Spending real money on an imaginary jacuzzi or a Halloween “mummy fish” will no longer be thought of as weird or fringe behavior. Clearly, you’ve arrived in mainstream, middle America when your product is displayed next to Hershey bars and cards for Target and McDonald’s.

Initial reactions by fans are positive. Despite grumblings by a few who’ve nicknamed the company “Payfish,” many gamers are rushing out to their neighborhood Walgreens, spurred by the cuteness factor of the pink and blue plastic.

Two weeks ago, I conducted a poll asking how much money you spend on Pet Society. Out of more than 1,000 respondents, 15% reported spending $20 or more each month. But a whopping 85% of you said you didn’t spend a dime. I wonder how these cards will affect those numbers in the next several months. I’m sure it’s no accident that the cards just happen to come in time for the holidays—stocking stuffers, anyone?