One of the more interesting things about Japan is how ubiquitous vending machines are in the country and how they’re used to sell a lot more than just snack foods and soft drinks. Visitors will find everything from surgical masks and neck ties to flower bouquets and prayer cards being sold in these machines—even used underwear.
While that’s already weird enough, it appears that select electronics retailers have begun setting up vending machines that offer AMD Ryzen processors to enthusiasts who are seeking a CPU but would prefer to avoid human contact.
Locals on social media have clarified that the boxes in these vending machines don’t actually contain new, factory-sealed Ryzen processors. Instead, what customers will find in these boxes is one or more second-hand AMD and/or Intel CPUs. The vending machines are basically a novel way of getting rid of older parts via lottery.
Enthusiasts who run into one of these can try their luck for just 1,000 Japanese Yen ($9). And while it’d be interesting to see, there doesn’t seem to be a vending machine for graphics cards (yet).
片付けがめんどいので休憩室居座り中～
— 大須パソコンショップ パウ (@OSU_PC_SHOP_PAW) August 30, 2021
風前の灯火…Ryzenガチャ週末まで持たんかも…(´･ω･`) pic.twitter.com/oAZEC2lhBU
A video from a few days ago shows that these vending machines don’t actually contain boxed AMD Ryzen 5000 CPUs but those are dummy boxes inside an arcade (Gacha) that users can play. The box contains one or several Intel/AMD CPUs and can be played for 1000 Japanese Yen or $9 US so basically how it works is like a lottery where you could win all the way from an old to a 1st or 2nd Gen Ryzen CPU. This still makes me want to have a vending machine with real CPUs inside.
Sources: OSU_PC_SHOP_PAW, Kanou (via Wccftech)