Sega Mega Drive: why retro consoles are about more than nostalgia

A new version of the classic1988 games console is selling well this year, apparently, but the appeal of this system goes deeper than reminiscence

Every year at about this time, newspapers love to identify the biggest-selling Christmas presents - those sudden surprise hits that have desperate shoppers combing internet stores for hours or simply fighting each other in Toys R Us.

This year, among other candidates, is a 40 wireless version of the Sega Mega Drive, the classic 1988 games console, famous for Sonic the Hedgehog. According to Argos, sales of the retro gadget, which includes 80 built-in games (although only 40 are Mega Drive classics, the rest are generic mini-games like solitaire) and a cartridge port so you can use any original game carts you have lying around, have risen by 400% this month. While we're all supposed to be saving up for cutting-edge machines like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, some families will be gathered around a very different audio-visual experience come 25 December.