Sega Mega Drive- Gizmo
In 1988, Nintendo controlled 95% of the American console market. The gaming industry had become a one-company show. Then Sega released a sleek black machine with "16-BIT" embossed in gold across its face, and everything changed.
The Mega Drive emerged from Sega's arcade division, where their System 16 boards were powering hits like After Burner and Shinobi. Designer Mitsushige Shiraiwa gave the console a deliberately mature aesthetic, inspired by high-end audio equipment rather than children's toys. The gold lettering wasn't subtle - it was a statement. This was twice the machine Nintendo was selling.
Launched in Japan on 29 October 1988, the Mega Drive struggled against Nintendo's dominance there. But when it crossed the Pacific as the Genesis in 1989, backed by the most aggressive marketing campaign gaming had ever seen, it found its audience. "Genesis does what Nintendon't." By 1991, a blue hedgehog named Sonic had given the console its killer app, and Sega had grown from an $813 million company to a $3.6 billion giant. The first console war had begun, fought in living rooms and playgrounds across the world.
From the Gizmo collection - a series of prints adapted from Simon Tyler's forthcoming book Gizmo: Retro-Tech We Loved and Lost, published by Laurence King in May 2026.
Produced as an open-edition print on 250gsm archival matte paper, with crisp detail and rich colour faithful to the original illustration.
Gizmo Series
Gizmo gathers illustrations adapted from and inspired by founder Simon Tyler's forthcoming book Gizmo: Retro-tech We Loved and Lost, published by Laurence King in May 2026.
The series is a visual archaeology of consumer electronics - the machines that shaped how we listened, watched, played, and worked from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Synthesizers that invented entire genres. Cameras that democratised photography. Computers that launched industries from bedroom desks. Boomboxes that soundtracked city blocks. Each one arrived as the future and departed as nostalgia, often within a single decade.
Every illustration begins with extensive photographic research - sourcing original imagery of each machine in its best light - and builds toward a clean, considered portrait that honours the object's design intent. The aim is not retro sentimentality but honest observation: what made these machines distinctive, how they looked when they were new, and why their forms still resonate.
Printed with the same archival care as our other series, Gizmo turns industrial design history into crisp, enduring graphic art.
Printing & Materials
Our Gizmo series is produced in collaboration with specialist fine-art printing partners using museum-grade 250 gsm archival giclée paper.
Each print is made to order with exceptional precision and colour accuracy, using pigment-based inks for long-term stability and rich tonal depth.
Prints are carefully rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in rigid cardboard tubes to ensure they arrive in perfect condition, ready for framing.
All materials and processes are chosen for their longevity, texture, and fidelity to the original artwork, reflecting our commitment to quality and craft.