Sometimes, the C64 is described as the most important computer in the 1980s. Other are argue, that the Amiga 500 was more important. A more objective point of view will come to the conclusion, that both systems were not very important for the microcomputer revolution. The main problem was, that these systems were not used as a programming platform but were marketed as an advanced Atari 2600 game console. The more interesting computer of the 1980s was the IBM PC. Especially it's open hardware ecosystem, the availability of the TurboC compiler, and the harddrive made the IBM PC to the most important computer system of the 1980s and 1990s.
On the first look, the IBM PC doesn't look very amazing. In contrast to the Amiga 500 the graphics capabilities were lower. Most PCs in that area had only support for 4 colors. But some interesting games were programmed for the system. And the most important aspect is, that the IBM PC was used not only for executing the application but for creating it. The built-in harddrive made the system to the ideal development system.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the IBM PC was, that in a short amount of time (less then 10 years) the ecosystem made large steps forward. In the beginning around 1987 the PC was mainly a textoriented system which had a minimal MS-DOS operating system. A typical programming language in that time was TurboC together with Assembly. Only 10 years later in 1997 the typical IBM PC has transformed itself into a multimedia PC which is working with Windows, has a C++ development system and allows 3d graphics plus sound.
In contrast to the IBM PC, all the other platforms in the 1980s for example the Commodore products, Atari products and the early game systems from Nintendo can be ignored. These hardware were designed for a special purpose but not as a computer for daily usage. In contrast, the IBM compatible system sold for low amount of money can be seen as the real home computer.