The arcade machine is a dying breed, at least in North America. Reduced to being tucked away in the darkest recesses of malls and airports, this endangered species lost it’s luster thanks to home consoles and portable handhelds.

The habitat once populated by these arcade cabinets is now home to another thriving species - the vending machine. Be it soda or chips or toiletries, people love these dispensaries and they are not going away anytime soon.

So why not merge the two? I propose an arcade cabinet and soda vending machine hybrid, that will allow people to play to win a soda. Not only does this machine resurrect ye olde arcade cabinet, but provides a compelling game of chance - similar to those crane games where you try to win a stuffed animal.

In order to thwart those Steve Wiebe types who will milk the machine dry playing Donkey Kong non-stop, this machine will have hundreds of games, providing the User with a random game to play for each quarter. Each game will have an objective in order to win a free pop.

The bottom line of this machine is to create more revenue and engage consumers in new and entertaining ways, as well as resurrecting a nostalgic experience. Also it’s a win-win for the consumer. Even if they don’t win a soda, they’ll have had some inexpensive entertainment. If they do win, well that soda will taste so much better.

It could also work the other way: buy a soda and possibly win a free credit on the arcade, if no one is playing. Speaking of which that’s why I designed this layout - so other customers can still buy drinks even when someone is playing away.

I think this would be a cool diversion, and tempt those who have a few minutes to spare to try their luck. Or maybe they’ll have a quarter left from buying their drink? This machine reeks of opportunity.