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UK to get PS3 vending machines

Published on 4th November 2008 by Joe Martin

Sony and Universal have announced plans to team up and bring PS3 vending machines to the UK.

At Stuff Magazine's Stuff Live Expo recently Sony Entertainment and Universal Pictures announced a most unusual partnership - to bring vending machines filled with PS3 games and Blu-ray movies to the UK.

According to Universal and Sony, the vending machines will be an important step in their distribution plans for PlayStation 3 games, Blu-ray movies and digital music.

The vending machine in question is set to be pretty snazzy and state of the art judging by the descriptions, though we haven't yet seen one for ourselves. The machine will apparently have a full touch-screen interface and different slots for different types of flash media. As well as offering PlayStation 3 games and Blu-ray movies the machines will offer digital music downloads that users can transfer to the media of their choosing.

As well as accepting cash payments, the vending machine will also accept credit cards for those larger purchases.

Currently Sony and Universal haven't announced plans to introduce the machine anywhere outside the UK, but the expectation is that Sony is ready to roll out more units should the first lot be successful.

Would you buy your movies and music from a vending machine like this, or would you rather search for deals online? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.

27 Comments

Discuss in the forums Reply

Tyrmot 4th November 2008, 12:21

Saw similar to this when I was in the states last - you could even buy digital cameras and PSPs out of them!

johnnyboy700 4th November 2008, 12:26

Wow, sounds like a great idea. Maybe the rest of the world will catch on rather than just Sony.

Diosjenin 4th November 2008, 12:34

Uh... if you "haven't yet seen one" for yourselves... what's that picture off to the right?

markwalker84 4th November 2008, 12:47

But the majority of UK PS3 owners dont have the flash media slots on their machines... Bit of an ugly solution isnt it?

yakyb 4th November 2008, 12:48

looks liek a method of stopping employing people to me

Buzzons 4th November 2008, 12:56

oh wow! that was the exact reason i didn't get a PS3 ... getting it / games / hd content was clearly so hard in the first place - shock amazon/play/hmv/tesco/etc/etc/.. how could i have lived without a vending machine to walk to to get one..

*sigh* who honestly cares?

DougEdey 4th November 2008, 12:58

Because they haven't seen one physically...

Woodspoon 4th November 2008, 13:07

cant see it working.
To use marketing speak, people enjoy the "shopping expierence" too much when buying games/movie/music, for this to work.
Most people may know exactly what they want when going into a shop, but that dosent stop them looking around and browsing through everything else on offer, just in case there's something that changes their mind or there's something extra.

iwog 4th November 2008, 13:10

All I can think of is the local chavs/criminals getting the idea to steal/break into one for the thousands of pounds of goods/cash inside...

kylew 4th November 2008, 13:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by markwalker84
But the majority of UK PS3 owners dont have the flash media slots on their machines... Bit of an ugly solution isnt it?

USB flash drives work with the PS3. :)

xAx 4th November 2008, 13:22

One of these in my local cinema already

proxess 4th November 2008, 13:25

Wouldn't they sell more if they had a women's used underwear vending machine?

naokaji 4th November 2008, 13:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by proxess
Wouldn't they sell more if they had a women's used underwear vending machine?

thats what you get for your 10th purchase, it's how they plan to stop theft as for the chavs in the area it will be closest they ever get to a female.:D

j/k

Shadowed_fury 4th November 2008, 14:32

Similar sort of thing like this in the bull ring (Birmingham), vending machines with memory cards/digital cameras in :)

mmorgue 4th November 2008, 14:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyboy700
Wow, sounds like a great idea. Maybe the rest of the world will catch on rather than just Sony.

Actually, vending machines like these have been around for years and years in Japan.

When I was there in 1995, I saw vending machines that sold virtually everything, from electronics to alcohol to soiled girls' knickers, etc.

However, they have a different cultural attitude when it comes to theft, etc. As people here have already stated, i couldnt imagine one lasting the nite; the teenage scum would destroy them and loot them. :/

johnnyboy700 4th November 2008, 14:56

Hell, doesn't surprise me as Japan seems to be centuries ahead of everyone else when it comes to Hi-Tech gadgetry. I seem to recall seeing something like these machines on a TV programme a while back but I guess the image didn't register on the old brain box until now.

Carpet3 4th November 2008, 15:19

so who do you go to for the guarantee? just direct to sony?

Timmy_the_tortoise 4th November 2008, 18:12

Seen one already a few weeks ago... Vends DVDs and Blu Rays...

There's a section for games, but there's none available.

I would NEVER use it.

Joeymac 4th November 2008, 18:23

Looks like an RRP vending machine. I can't imagine you would get anything at a remotely "good" price.

However if a 3rd party did this, had a huge network of vending machines and you could pick up items you ordered from the likes of play/amazon/HMV/Zavvi/whatever... after buying online at the normal online prices. This would be the greatest invention of all time.

Tulatin 4th November 2008, 20:13

So, I'm pretty sure these things will be a nice, BIG target for theft, and counterfeiters. I mean, you can feed it fake bills and it produces nice, sell able results, or you know, you could knock the thing over to loot it, or best yet, take a freshly stolen credit card for a quick fix.

That said, It reminds me of video rental vending machines I saw years ago up here - feed it cash, pick the tape, and go home.

Ninja_182 4th November 2008, 21:12

Slots for flash media? Can we upload programs to get discount :p

woodshop 5th November 2008, 01:35

OO just like Red Box. only this is buy me.. not rent me.

Icecoldbagey 5th November 2008, 02:11

Yeah like XaX said, there a couple in the cinema near me although they only sell DVD's of course.

docodine 5th November 2008, 04:00

I just saw an iPod vending machine at the mall, this can't be too far off.

Amon 5th November 2008, 04:30

At least there's no tax.
http://www.trendhunter.com/images/phpthumbnails/1088_1_230.jpeg
I wouldn't mind using this.

[USRF]Obiwan 5th November 2008, 08:12

Some evil thief's will probably load it up a truck and sell the inside on Ebay...
Especial this time of the year the crime rate is high because every one needs money for santa...

Cthippo 5th November 2008, 19:10

They have these in airports over here. Maybe the mall too, but I never go there. They work well in places that already have 24 hour security.

I'm not sure I wouldn't pay a small premium to get a product I had already decided on right now without dealing with some incompetent teenaged sales monkey.