BBC BASIC is based on Atom BASIC. Atom BASIC was pretty fast (like BBC BASIC and Apple BASIC, it vastly out performed Microsoft BASIC). Atom BASIC also allowed you to do some really cool stuff too like in-line assembly.
Also the BBC Micro was released in the same year as the first IBM PC, so it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say Acorn didn’t have BBC BASIC at that time.
Let’s also not forget that the original few generations of the IBM PC was crap for all but business applications (I don’t need to lead though old magazines, I was there in that era). And that it took a while before the IBM-compatibles became reliable (for years there was uncertainty about which PC software would work on which PCs) or even safe from litigation (since IBM sued a few OEMs). It wasn’t until crafty developers (like Carmack and Romero) found ways to make stuff like scrolling PC games - software that before then people didn’t think was possible on a PC - that people started to take it seriously as a family computer. Before then BASIC micros were a much more attractive option; and cheaper too.
Edit: it’s also worth noting that the Apple Macintosh, Atari ST and Amiga all ran circles around IBM PCs too. Albeit we are now talking a few years later. Frankly IBM PC + DOS/Windows was amongst the worst micro computers on the market in my opinion. The only reason they dominated was because by the end of the 80s OEMs could build them more cheaply than designing their own hardware. So the market got saturated.
Also the BBC Micro was released in the same year as the first IBM PC, so it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say Acorn didn’t have BBC BASIC at that time.
Let’s also not forget that the original few generations of the IBM PC was crap for all but business applications (I don’t need to lead though old magazines, I was there in that era). And that it took a while before the IBM-compatibles became reliable (for years there was uncertainty about which PC software would work on which PCs) or even safe from litigation (since IBM sued a few OEMs). It wasn’t until crafty developers (like Carmack and Romero) found ways to make stuff like scrolling PC games - software that before then people didn’t think was possible on a PC - that people started to take it seriously as a family computer. Before then BASIC micros were a much more attractive option; and cheaper too.
Edit: it’s also worth noting that the Apple Macintosh, Atari ST and Amiga all ran circles around IBM PCs too. Albeit we are now talking a few years later. Frankly IBM PC + DOS/Windows was amongst the worst micro computers on the market in my opinion. The only reason they dominated was because by the end of the 80s OEMs could build them more cheaply than designing their own hardware. So the market got saturated.