Sega Mega Drive

The Sega Mega Drive brought true 16-bit, arcade-quality gaming into the home from 1988, powered by the same kind of processor found in machines like the Amiga and ST. Fast, slick and pitched squarely at older players who wanted something with attitude, it gave Sega its biggest success yet.

Known as the Genesis in North America, it lit the fuse on a ferocious rivalry with Nintendo's SNES, the defining console war of the early 1990s, fought with cheeky advertising and a swagger Nintendo couldn't match. At the heart of it was a cocky blue mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, who became the face of Sega's challenge.

Cool, confident and packed with classics, the Mega Drive won a place in millions of hearts and remains one of the most beloved consoles ever made. For a generation it was the machine that felt a little bit rebellious, the one that dared to take on Nintendo and, for a while, genuinely had it rattled.