Obsessively Cataloging Video Game "Pop" Culture
I’m not quite convinced this is the ultimate vending machine, but who am I to argue with Takayuki? While this same drink machine previously appeared in √Letter, it received a visual upgrade for Root Letter: Last Answer. Thanks for the screenshot, SalarymanDaishi!
Deus Ex: The Fall, a spin-off from the main series featuring protagonist Ben Saxon, launched on mobile devices in 2014 and was later ported to Windows. The screenshot above is from the Windows version and features lower polygon-count versions of the vending machines that appeared in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Thanks for the screenshot, Trundles!
Slip on a lobster costume and go for a long-distance run past these roadside soda machines in Nippon Marathon. And remember, kids — just like in real life, popularity affects your final score.
Thanks for the screenshots, SalarymanDaishi!
After Lucasfilm Games released its breakthrough MMO Habitat in 1986, Fujitsu licensed the technology to create its own Fujitsu Habitat for the Japanese market in 1990. Fujitsu would later purchase the Habitat IP outright and use the underlying technology to launch the WorldsAway virtual world on CompuServe in 1995. Fujitsu went on to localize WorldsAway for the Japanese market, releasing it for Windows, Macintosh, and the Sega Saturn as Habitat II in 1996.
With all of that history out of the way, the screenshot above features a beverage-dispensing vendroid unit, which provided players with soda, coffee, hot chocolate, and other drinks they could use to customize their avatars.
Thanks to RenoProjectIV on Twitter for filling in some of these historical details! You can learn much, much more about Habitat and its follow-ups at the official RenoProject archive.
I’m awarding bonus points to this Energy Drink Potion machine from Final Fantasy VII remake for its savvy bench ads. After all, bench advertising is a cost-efficient way to generate high impressions and enhance brand recognition across a wide demographic range. Even a mercenary like Cloud Strife knows that’s good business.
Thanks for the screenshot, Oscar!
The same cold drinks machine that appeared in Capcom’s 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 also pops up in the 2020 remake of Resident Evil 3. Will we ever see Juicy Raccoon soda return to the series?
Thanks for the screenshot, Ian!
Out of order? I’m leaving this seaside shack from Switch platformer The Touryst a one-star Tripadvisor review. Thanks anyway for the screenshot, SalarymanDaishi!
If an astronomical body isn’t an option, I’ll settle for a cold beverage from this Lunar Space Food Industries soda machine in Deliver Us The Moon. Thanks for the screenshot, Geoff!
