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Games vending machines to appear on UK streets

PoP goes the sequel
Tuesday, 4 November 2008, 18:40

SONY ENTERTAINMENT and Universal Pictures have teamed up to bring "instant entertainment" vending machines, packed chock full of PS3 games, Blu-ray movies and downloadable music, to Britain’s street corners.

The PoP "entertainment vending machine", shown off at Stuff Magazine’s Stuff Live Expo recently, will be able to satisfy multimedia cravings at all hours and will accept both cash and credit cards for the pleasure.

UK punters will soon be able to download music and movies to their iHeart’s delight, straight onto their MP3/MP4 players, SD cards or most other USB-supporting portable devices.

Want a proper DVD? The machine can give you those too, popping out Blu-ray and game DVDs all shrink wrapped and ready to use, 24/7.

alt='pop'

The touchscreen machine will also purportedly let customers get a sneak peak at what they’re buying by allowing punters to check out trailers before coughing up the cash.

Sony and Universal reckon the vending machines are an important phase in their plans for the future distribution of PlayStation 3 games, Blu-ray movies and digital music, and are promising 150 movie titles at launch. Don’t get too excited though, at least one of those is said to be Mama Mia.

What the firms have failed to mention thus far is whether DRM will be a factor in the vending machine multimedia and which file formats will be available to downloaders.

But no doubt we’ll find out soon enough here in Britain, with PoP coming to a dodgy dark alley near you very soon. The rest of the world will just have to wait with baited breath till Sony and Universal figure out whether or not it’s a good idea. µ

L’Inq
Stuff

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Comments
A Yobs dream come true

I will be waiting to see how long it takes for yobs to realise, that a crowbar to one of these machines, gives free gaming and instant cash. Yeah, this may take off alright....in a transit van.

posted by : Big D, 05 November 2008 Complain about this comment
ah, punters ripe for the taking

sounds like a perfect place to mug people. they have the cash, or the game/media..and they are busy staring at a little screen.

posted by : fred, 05 November 2008 Complain about this comment
Only 6 years behind

So the UK finally gets their own version of Redbox( http://www.redbox.com/home.aspx ) that has had it's kiosks across the USA since 2002 with greater annual sales than Blockbuster.
Only major difference in the systems seem to be that the UK version will take cash. For now.



posted by : Jared, 04 November 2008 Complain about this comment
Is this the end of piracy?

Brilliant! This is a stroke of genious!

Piracy can now end because chavs and pikies can carry off the vending machines and sell the contents at half price down the pub (chavs) and car parks (pikies).

They're on to a winner with this.

Chris

posted by : Chris, 04 November 2008 Complain about this comment
DRM is the least of there worries

Ha ha. I hope the security of these machines is as good as that of cash points, because these little beauties are going to attract vandals and thieves like a dog to a bone.

posted by : The Druid, 04 November 2008 Complain about this comment
carted away...

How long before some one carts a machine away because of the value of the stuff inside then?

Taking bets now - less than a week anyone?

posted by : 3dcandy, 04 November 2008 Complain about this comment
“off the books” CDS

Default Value Derivatives (DVDs)! Let's keep this on an insider itraxx! Foxys' know best how to guard the henhouse, eh? WinkWinkWink. Interested Parties will prefer discretion to the normal angry citizenry response, the guillotine or the hangman’s noose. Remember, Frankenfurter: bread good; fire bad.
BTW, you may not want these would be felons, formerly known as investment bankers, in Blighty. PoP goes the weasel, coming to a dodgy dark alley, eh? They owes me a pint so I'll be getting that one, but I may be stumped for getting another. As Martha would say: 'that's a good thing'.

posted by : Asifewedidnow, 04 November 2008 Complain about this comment
fits in the back of a lorry

that better be well screwed down or it'll end up in the back of a lorry

posted by : 99flake, 04 November 2008 Complain about this comment
wont last a day in Glasgow

i remember when some one had the idea to put one of those coca-cola machines on the streets of Glasgow, been in the bronks they said, unbreakable they said, i think the thing lasted two days

posted by : william, 05 November 2008 Complain about this comment
A Machine Filled With Cash and Games?

Yeh...

If they're gonna steal a car, I think they might steal a vending machine full of cash and media...

The credit card bit inside it could be used to scam people too.

posted by : Stuart, 05 November 2008 Complain about this comment
Dumb

Wow what a stupid idea. Sony must really be hurting to do something as stupid as this. I can see it now, pop in a $50 bill (or 50 Euro) and get a warped sun baked disc. Have fun returning something you bought from a vending machine.

posted by : Pixelated, 05 November 2008 Complain about this comment
it's a copy

It's a copy of t-Store
http://www.tbrsoft.com/t-store

bye

posted by : Victor, 22 December 2008 Complain about this comment
Works great

I was able to use one of these in my local Vue last night.

I initially thought it was a dreadful idea, until I was able to purchase Hellboy II on Blu-Ray for £8.93.

I doubt these machines are going to be put on street corners and dark alleys as suggested by the article.

If the prices stay low then I can't see why they wont be a success.

posted by : D Ward, 29 January 2009 Complain about this comment
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