Released by Sinclair Research in the United Kingdom in 1982, the ZX Spectrum became one of the defining European home computers of the 1980s. Affordable, compact and easy to connect to a television, it entered a market shaped by the Commodore 64, BBC Micro, Atari 8-bit and, soon after, Amstrad CPC. It found a notable audience in Italy, but in the United Kingdom and Spain it became a truly generational machine.

Built around a Zilog Z80A CPU running at 3.5 MHz, the Spectrum first appeared in 16 KB and 48 KB RAM versions, later expanded through the 128K models. Its main medium was cassette tape, cheap but slow, alongside peripherals such as the Microdrive and later floppy-based solutions. Graphics ran at 256×192 pixels with a distinctive attribute-based color system, offering 15 shades including bright variants, but also producing the well-known color clash. Early models used a simple internal beeper, while 128K machines added the AY-3-8912 sound chip.

Sales of the Spectrum family are generally estimated at over 5 million units. Its legacy runs through Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Knight Lore, The Way of the Exploding Fist, Dizzy, Saboteur!, R-Type and Head over Heels.