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Because IBM picked the other chip for their flagship offering. It's as simple as that. If IBM had picked the 68K series a lot more funding would have been available to keep the Motorola chips competitive. In this branch of the multiverse they had to compete with the IBM/Intel combination, which with their massive sales of PCs and compatibles had both better margins and substantially larger volume. Motorola didn't stand a chance, even if they may have had bit of a head start technology wise.


IBM did make a 68000-based PC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_System_9000


OP said "flagship offering"

Your link says

> Noting the obscurity of its 1982 release, BYTE in January 1983 called the System 9000 "IBM's 'Secret' Computer"

A computer that is not advertised is not going to win.


That strikes me as splitting hairs, but OK, as you wish.

I think it was interesting that another bit of the company did use the CPU that it is often said IBM didn't use, or similar statements. It did.

Why the PC was promoted and the 9K wasn't, I don't know. Possibly price.

IBM later used modified 68000s in the S360 compatility card for the IBM PC as well.




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