Obsessively Cataloging Video Game "Pop" Culture
You can’t run a proper pet spa in The Sims 2: Apartment Pets without a vending machine or two! First up, we have a standard vending machine that sells soda and bottled water.
Upscale clientele might prefer the deluxe model that dispenses “everything but the kitchen sink.”
Or, you know, if you hail from the distant future, maybe the Ultimate Vending Machine is more your style.
Finally, here are the icons for each vending machine from the game’s furniture menu.
I can’t speak for TONY, SAL, VINNIE, or MARIA, but I’d definitely grab a cold drink from this soda machine in the DOS spy thriller, The Nine Lives of Secret Agent Katt!
[Source]
Sure, things aren’t going great aboard the Ishimura, but at least nobody has taken a plasma cutter to the Sun Cola machines (yet).
This screenshot is from the 2023 remastered version of Dead Space. You can compare it with the original Sun Cola model in the archive.
Dawntrail, the current Final Fantasy XIV expansion, added these soda machines to the long-running MMORPG. If you ask me, they should have waited for the upcoming January 2027 expansion, Evercold.
Thanks for the screenshots, Harrison!
I don’t know if this 2009 Flash game based on Cartoon Network’s Total Drama Action is really the best game ever, but it has a vending machine that sells energy drinks, so it can’t be that bad!
I took a quick break from my ranked match to grab a screenshot of this soda machine from Overwatch. I think it’s a new asset added for the Busan map rework in Season 4, but it’s also possible I just never noticed it until now. Possible, but unlikely.
When Sea of Thieves launched its Legend of Monkey Island expansion in 2023, of course it featured a Grog machine. Drinking a Grog Classic from the machine even earns players the “Yo-ho-ho, and…” commendation!
I especially like how its ramshackle pirate design contrasts with the more anachronistic Grog machines found elsewhere in the Monkey Island series. Thanks for the screenshot, Matt!
I was so impressed by this Quality Soda vending machine from Spider-Man 2 that I had to show it off to my new friend.
Here’s a closer look at the drink selection…
Superhero Week
While Catwoman is busy casing Shreck’s Department Store in LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader is focused on more important matters: checking the vending machine for clues.
[Source]
Superhero Week
Even with Lower Manhattan under siege in Marvel Rivals, Jubilee knows there’s always time to stop for a Strange Soda.
Meanwhile, these soda machines should be sufficient to keep Iron Man fully caffeinated while fighting supervillains in the streets of Tokyo 2099.
Here’s another, courtesy of Fox on Bluesky. I know it says “Candy & Cookies,” but those look an awful lot like soda cans to me.
Finally, Marvel Rivals uses this vending machine interface for Jeff’s Break Time, an anniversary event starring everyone’s favorite land shark. [Source]
Superhero Week