So I bought my first Computer in the summer of 83. a VIC-20. Served me well for a few years till I earned enough to finally get a C64.
Then, for the couple hundred dollars I had I got a VIC, the datasette and the first issue of Compute's Gazzette for Commodore. For that same amount I could have got a 16k Atari 400, and nothing else (no tape recorder, it *might* have had BASIC with it, maybe not - BASIC was an optional cartridge on Atari 400/800.).
The TI wasn't on my radar, most magazine articles had told how locked down it was for graphics programming and that the 16bit CPU wastn that great speed wise, not to mention very limited availability compared to Commodore and Atari Computers.
Radio Shack was more than the VIC, also once you bot a RadioShack you were locked into only buying stuff from them, they made it very difficult to get 3rd party stuff.
Apple ][ was the rich kids computer; there was no price war as far as they were concerned - you have to have $1,000+ to attain that class of computer. pppbbbt.
PCs? Those were not "Games Machines" and very proud of that fact (also even more expensive than the Apple).
Timex/Sinclair - lousy keyboard, only 2k of RAM, not many stores had it, and was not color like the VIC.
Commodore had displays in all the big stores, so people could see how polished and fun it was, kids could even write trashy BASIC graffiti programs in a few minutes while waiting for Mom to finish shopping, It just worked.