The Video Game Soda Machine Project
Obsessively Cataloging Video Game "Pop" Culture
The great thing about a cartoon that prominently features a soda machine at one of its recurring locations is that you can be reasonably assured the same soda machine will pop up in video game adaptations of the cartoon, like this Pitt Cola machine from Gravity Falls: Legend of the Gnome Gemulets for the 3DS.
Where we droppin’ boys? Well, if you’re in the mood for a refreshing soda, I recommend parachuting on down to the Atlas Superstore in Call of Duty: Warzone. Here’s a closer look at one of the soda machines…
In case anyone is curious, the latest issue of Game Studies features an article I wrote about my work here at The Video Game Soda Machine Project. If peer-reviewed academic research about pixelated soda machines is your jam, check it out!
The Dragon Lord has returned! I’m not sure if that means the world of mobile MMO Dragon Raja is doomed or whatever, but it certainly can’t bode well for its vending machines.
Thanks for the heads-up, Mooeena!
Chilling out with a refreshing Colo is always a winning strategy in Get in the Car, Loser!, an upcoming lesbian road trip RPG from Love Conquers All Games. Thanks for the screenshot, Christine!
These pressurized cans of Grob food paste from Journey to the Savage Planet aren’t exactly soda, but they’re definitely savage. Thanks for the screenshot, KukaBarnus!
This vending machine is a random encounter in World of Horror, a creeptastic 1-bit RPG set in Shiokawa, Japan. Just be careful not to fail your dexterity check when buying a soda. Otherwise, your hand gets caught in the machine and you end up injuring yourself when you jerk it out. Bummer.
Cool off with an ice-cold Halvaad or Pealan soda in mobile racer Asphalt Overdrive! As an added bonus, I tracked down a video that features work-in-progress versions of Asphalt Overdrive’s garage environment, featuring Frosty and Springer vending machines in place of Halvaad and Pealan, respectively.
Tick-tock. Time is running out to prevent the apocalypse(s) in point-and-click platformer Lair of the Clockwork God, so grab a quick drink and a snack from this vending machine and get to work. Thanks for the screenshot, Hoosegow Flask!
Build-A-Bear Workshop shut down its Bearville virtual world back in 2015, but I was able to salvage a screenshot of this vending machine. It was located at the entrance to the Bearville Zoo, an area initially accessible only to the service’s VIBs — you know, Very Important Bears.
Convention Quest is a homebrew NES game created for the 2019 Let’s Play Gaming Expo in Irving, Texas, and limited to 300 copies. Not only does the game include soda machines, but there’s even a quest that involves finding the right soda machine where you can buy a drink for a fellow conventioneer in need of a boost.
Thanks to SoleGoose for bringing this one to my attention!
I’ve gotta be honest: I’m kinda curious what the sodas in Megami Ibunroku Persona’s corrupted demon shadow world taste like. Probably RC Cola.
Thanks for the screenshots, Tikhon!
Ho, ho, ho! Merry basketball Christmas! 3on3 Freestyle features this seasonal soda machine as part of its annual Christmas celebration. If you prefer something a little spookier, how about this trick or treat-themed soda machine from 3on3’s Halloween event?
The soda machines in Star Fetchers, a ’90s-inspired action adventure, dispense delicious flavors like, uh, American BBQ and Indian stew.
Thanks for the screenshots, Tikhon!
Spike McLeod poses in front of some drink machines in Final Fantasy VII. I still can’t believe they changed his name for the remake.
Thanks for alerting me to this one, Eric!
Typical high school student Peter Parker hangs out beside the soccer-themed Goala Cola machines in Robloxian High School. Thanks to, well, my six-year-old daughter for finding this one.