Christmas Past and Christmas Present: Mega Drive and Switch 2

When I was my daughter's age, I got a Mega Drive for Christmas. 

This Christmas, she'll be getting a Switch 2.

The GEO app said they had it in stock. At least one Switch 2 behind the counter at a local store, available last weekend without the need to reserve or enter a lottery that I'd be bound to lose. A rare thing, and only a twenty-minute drive away.

I took a moment to consider whether I wanted a Switch 2. I hadn't planned to get one this year, but given that console prices go up nowadays, not down, waiting made little sense. I thought about my daughter, who'd be delighted to have one before the big Switch 2 exclusives drop, including new Splatoon and that Pokemon game that looks like Animal Crossing. 

Good reasons to buy one, but it was the season that clinched it. The chance to put a console under the Christmas tree was too good to pass up, so I jumped in the car and prepared to massively exceed my festive budget.

The journey was straight forward, but parking was a nightmare. Upon arrival, I had to make a GEO store card, which involved listening to the clerk for what felt like an eternity, as she went over the T&Cs in minute detail and in terms that would never appear on the JLPT. She spent a good portion of her spiel explaining rental conditions, as that's a service that GEO offers, and I was momentarily convinced that I'd accidentally signed up for a console rental, not a purchase. I was greatly relieved when she rang up 49,980 yen on the till, which I reasoned would be a little steep for a 5-day trial.

Switch 2 secured, I then drove home, snuck it into the house, wrapped it up, and then put it under the tree after everyone else had gone to bed. A vague label attached - "Merry Christmas" - giving no indication of what's inside or who it's for. A week later, and it's still flying under the radar, a guaranteed surprise for Christmas morning.

Technically it's mine, but it's 90% for my daughter. She already has plenty of goodies under the tree, bought before the GEO incident, so adding a Switch 2 to her gifts would get me into deep trouble and would be excessive even for me, an infamous festive freak. So it's mine, but in name only.

When I was her age, Christmas 1994, I asked for and received a Sega Mega Drive. I'd spent countless afternoons that year around my mate's house playing his older brother's MD. We raided his collection of carts, and had far too much fun with the Menacer light gun. I was smitten. Convinced it was time to upgrade from my Master System, the MD would sit atop every draft of my Christmas list. My parents obliged, and bought me one bundled with Sonic 2 and a copy of Street Fighter II Championship Edition; we got 3-button pads, because none of us knew any better. That probably explains why, to this day, I'm shit at Street Fighter. 

I only had two Mega Drive Christmases. The second brought Zero Tolerance and Road Rash 3; the year after, I got my Saturn . Consoles had far briefer lives back in the day - generations were shorter and consoles were a little more affordable, if you weren't bothered about being there Day One. I had my Master System for three years, my MD for two, and a Saturn for less than that. When I upgraded, the older console was usually passed down to my younger brother for a second life, and therefore a new purchase was more palatable for my parents.

Can you imagine moving off a console now after just two years? In this economy, you'd have to be mad! Console lifespans are far longer than they used to be, the prices extortionate, and technological jumps between each have become increasingly negligible. It pays to stay put. Why lust for a PS6 when we have a PS5 at home? A PS4, even? Why play anything else at all when you have a Sega Saturn? Don't answer that.

This year, it'll be nice to recapture the excitement of a new console at Christmas. A little symmetry between my daughter's Christmas present and my Christmas past. I can't wait to enjoy it with her.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours! I hope to see you back here just before the New Year for my Best and Worst of 2025.