Comment by brudgers

Do you think this would have encouraged more users to learn BASIC programming?

No.

+ Back then everyone knew computers could be programmed…whether or not they programmed.

+ Writing Basic was not why most people turned the computer on and booting to basic would have created friction.

+ Mostly learning programming happened on the exhaust fumes of other uses of computers. Games, applications, etc. And when people bought computers to program, booting Basic would not remove a barrier. The barrier was having a computer.

The C64 was consumer electronics not a kickstarter. More people learned Basic in direct proportion to the number of C64’s sold.