Mojang CEO Carl Manneh noted that pre-paid cards have been huge for Minecraft, helping to quadruple sales of the game in the U.S. after they became available at Walmart, Target, Best Buy and GameStop. It has allowed the company to reach younger consumers with interest in the game but no credit cards and accounted for half of the game’s sales late in the year.
“We had a hard time believing those figures,” said Manneh. “It was such a come back from the previous months. Markus [Persson] was on holiday in Thailand, and he and I sent text messages back and forward every day. We were so amazed.”
In the future, pre-paid cards will help Minecraft expand in regions like Brazil and Japan. “The prepaid cards will not cannibalize the rest of our sales,” said Manneh. “Instead, we reach new groups of costumers with other consumption habits.”
Source: GamesIndustry International
