On the other hand, nearly everyone agrees that for the
Commodore 8-bit
computers, they (i.e. the 64 and 128) were still very strong sellers and
commanded a large software base even as late as 1989.
That's debatable.
When I went to (a fairly small) engineering school from 1988-91-
probably a good sample of home computer nerdiness - there were no kids
with C64s or C128s in the dorm rooms. Sure, their were some that used
to have them, but most had moved on to other platforms. XTs and clones
had the biggest share by far with well over 100 users, and maybe
Amigas taking second place with roughly 15. There were five kids with
Atari STs, three with 8 bit Ataris, two Macs, a Rainbow, a PC junior,
an Interdata, but no 8 bit Commodores or Apples.
I think that the C64 line took a fast nosedive in 1987 - never dying,
but definitely not a strong seller.
--
Will