The Video Game Soda Machine Project
Obsessively Cataloging Video Game "Pop" Culture
Majesco completed a sequel to A Boy and His Blob for the Nintendo DS back in 2005, but never released it due to financial problems. Luckily, a few screenshots have survived, including this subway scene featuring Dr. Blob, Blob Rite, and Expensive Water drink machines. [Source]
Faced with a difficult choice, Graham throws his support behind the blue soda machine in Let It Die. Thanks for the screenshot, Tikhon!
Wholesome Cats invites us to discover the secrets of Cat Island and meet more than 50 cats, including “magic cats, dessert cats, thicc cats, & one (1) smol borker.” That’s great and all, but what do a bunch of cats need with a soda machine?
Thanks for the screenshot, Cornelius!
As far as wrestling games go, WWF Royal Rumble for the Dreamcast is a weird one. Occasionally, in the middle of a match, the lights will go out in the ring, and the wrestlers will reappear in a random backstage area. If you’re lucky, you’ll rematerialize in front of this soda machine.
Thanks for the tip, RomanOnARiver!
Suplex your thirst with this backstage soda machine in WWE 2K18! Unfortunately, it’s suffered a little battle damage in the screenshot below.
Thanks to Some-Crappy-Edits on Reddit for the screenshots!
UPDATE: WWE 2K19 recycles the same backstage areas — along with a familiar smashed-up soda machine.
Thanks for the screenshot, SixPointTwentyFive!
I appreciate games like Biz Builder Delux that respect a player’s time enough to feature a soda machine right smack dab on the title screen. For what it’s worth, a different soda machine appears on the title screen of the Western release.
This row of vending machines appears in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2nd for the PlayStation Portable. I especially like the non-trademark-infringing “Peps” logo.
Apex Construct is a VR shooter set in a robo-apocalyptic future where the vending machines not only dispense restorative drinks (“health cans”), but also a modest selection of explosive ordnance. [Source]
The blue vending machines from Splatoon are already in the archive, but this white model from the Ancho-V Games stage is a new addition! [Source]
I don’t speak Japanese, so I can only assume the titular “girlfriend of steel” in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel is one of these lovely soda machines.
Cold World is an upcoming “police horror/thriller” shooter, and this blood-spattered soda machine appears in the demo. For what it’s worth, this seems to be the same base model used for the Fiz soda machines in Radical Heights. Thanks for the heads-up, Jackalope!
vSide was a Second Life-style virtual world that launched in 2006, perhaps best known for featuring occasional visits from celebrities like Tyra Banks and the Pussycat Dolls. Luckily, someone preserved this soda machine before vSide was shut down a few years ago.
If I’ve learned anything under the tutelage of the Ramen Sensei, it’s that no noodle shop is complete without at least one soda machine and a bunch of ATMs.
EA launched Motor City Online, a massively multiplayer online racing game, in 2001 and eventually shut it down in 2003 to focus on The Sims Online. Luckily, Lazy Game Reviews was able to recover this “lost” Foster Soda machine using offline patches. Nice work, LGR!
Logan Kart 8 is a slightly janky Mario Kart fan game that features an entire track set inside a soda machine. I’m not an expert in Logan Kart lore, so it’s difficult to say whether the racers have been shrunk or if it’s just a really big soda machine. Ask Waluigi.
Just for fun, here’s a video of me racing a lap around the Waluigi Vending Machine map.