he PlayStation Store seems to be hitting its stride now, with a steady stream of new games and other DLC. Unfortunately, if you aren’t armed with a credit card, that entire aspect of the console is essentially off limits to you. Unlike with the Xbox 360 and Wii, Sony hasn’t made any prepaid cards available for use in its store, leaving out younger players and people who might just not want to get involved with plastic. Fortunately, that’s about to change. Here’s the official word from the PlayStation Blog:

We’ve heard the call - usually around the time we update the PlayStation Store - from loyal PS3/PSP owners who’d like to give (or receive) these cards as a gift, and from those who’d like an alternative to using a credit card to purchase things on the PlayStation Store. So here’s an update: Yes, the option many of you have been asking for - PlayStation Network Cards - are coming, and should start appearing at retailers in early ‘08. The cards will be redeemable via the PlayStation Store for PC, and on the PlayStation 3 to supply the wallet with funds to spend on games, add-ons, and other paid content.