Since the NES, every five years or so a distinct new wave of technology has washed across the industry, bringing with it new power and functions to a market galvanised by the promise of faster, better, more. Change was once always tantalisingly close. Regional differences would see a console newly launched in one territory while its successor was only a gasp from being announced in another, such as Sega’s Master System, which was launched in Europe in September 1987 and followed by the 16bit Mega Drive in Japan just 13 months later.

The current console cycle, which began with Xbox 360 in 2005, shows little sign of ending.