One key factor for the success of the mobile social gaming business model (and for all mobile content, for that matter) in Japan is that consumers over here can pay for products and services through their cell phones so easily. Now GREE has made it even easier to pay for virtual items and avatar-related goods: players can now use Edy (or Mobile Edy, to be more exact), a popular e-money service in Japan, to get GREE’s virtual gold or coins.
Edy is only available for feature phones in the beginning, but GREE says smartphones with an e-wallet function are next on the list.
Another plan is that starting this summer, people using Edy to shop in the real world will be able to collect points that can be used to purchase virtual items on GREE.
