Vending Machines Selling PlayStation 3 Games Coming to U.K.

You’re hungry, you see a vending machine, and you reach in your pocket for that last crumpled dollar. After much fussing, the machine takes it. C7 -- some delicious Fritos sound appetizing. The bag jostles, begins to move forward, and then... gets stuck against the glass. Annoying? Now imagine instead of chips, it was a $60 game.

As Stuff.tv reports (via VideoGamer), Universal Pictures and Sony have signed a deal to manufacture and distribute "PoP Instant Entertainment 24/7" vending machines across the U.K., where patrons will be able to purchase DVDs, Blu-rays, various media downloads, and yes, also PS3 games. That’s a whole lot of quarters you’re going to need to feed.

The plan is to have 150 movies available when these machines are rolled out, including recent movies like Hellboy II and Mama Mia -- you’ll even be able to view trailers on the machine’s screen before purchasing some of them. What (and how many) games will be available wasn’t specified, but people will also be able to purchase and download movies and music directly to MP3 and MP4 players, or to an SD card. What kind of security these things will have wasn’t detailed, but we imagine no less than a cage built around them with a tiger inside will be needed to stave off would be thieves. (Obviously, a complicated rig of levers and pulleys will be used to safely insert money and retrieve your items from a distance.)

The vending machines will appear in theaters, gyms, universities, and travel stations. Will we ever see them here in the U.S.? No word on that, but probably not. We never get cool vending machines in the U.S.