Obsessively Cataloging Video Game "Pop" Culture
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.
Make no bones about it; these Real Good Puppa soda machines from An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs (a.k.a. Dog Airport Game) deserve all the ear scratches. They even have paw print dispensing buttons!
And, in what might be a video game first, you can pet the dog soda machine in Dog Airport Game!
Developer Xalavier Nelson Jr. of Strange Scaffold was even kind enough to share these behind-the-scenes images of Dog Airport Game, showing off light placement and collisions for the vending machines.
Thanks, Xalavier!
Check out these soda machines at the HeeHo Mart in Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore and treat yourself to a refreshing drink. If you don’t like the selection (or if you’re intimidated by the chibi bald eagle), there are plenty of other options scattered around the city…
Thanks for the screenshots, Jason!
Show some love for this soda machine from the 2019 remake of the PC-98 visual novel YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World. Thanks for the submission, SalarymanDaishi!
The Fractal Dream soda machines from Paradise Cracked return in COPS 2170: The Power of Law, and this time, it looks like they’ve along brought a friend. Thanks for the submission, Loser Antbear!
Take a break from the cyberpunk tactical action in Paradise Cracked and enjoy a Fractal Dream soda. Each sip is as indistinguishably refreshing as the entire can! Thanks for the screenshot, Loser Antbear!
It’s always been my fantasy to travel on a train swanky enough to have its own drink machine, and thanks to Final Fantasy XV : Pocket Edition, that fantasy is now a reality. Thanks for the screenshot, lookat!
Life in the cyberpunk dystopia of Neon City Riders might be nasty, brutish, and short, but at least there are plenty of soda machines scattered around town.
Avoid the shadows to survive in Lightmatter, a first-person puzzler with “the floor is lava” mechanics, vending machines, and a cat named Lux.
I know cats aren’t soda machines, but how could I resist Lux? ?