Commodore VIC-20 : History of the VIC/VolksComputer Series (opens in new tab)

It all started in the year 1980. During a European conference, Commodore president Jack Tramiel received reports of impending Japanese movement in the computer market. This cast a great shadow of fear over Tramiel's heart. The Japanese had a nasty habit of waiting until a piece of merchandise reached a commodity status in the mass market. They would then pool their collective resources to produce the merchandise at dirt-low costs, and dump their cheaply produced goods in foreign markets. T...