Sega Master System

While Nintendo's NES ruled Japan and North America, the story in Britain, much of Europe and famously Brazil was very different: here, Sega's Master System reigned. Launched internationally from the mid-1980s, its sharp graphics and strong arcade conversions won it a large and devoted following.

In the UK in particular it was the console to own for many players, and at its peak it outsold Nintendo and dominated European sales for years, an outcome that would astonish anyone who only knows the American side of the console wars. For a generation of British kids, Sega, not Nintendo, was the name on the games machine under the telly.

The Master System established Sega as a serious force in home gaming and built the momentum that the company would carry into even greater success with the Mega Drive. It remains a much-loved machine, and a reminder that the console wars looked very different depending on which country you grew up in.