TL;DR - Linux is free, it’s easy to use, works out of the box (when choosing a distro like Mint), and it can make your old-trusty computer work again. But I’m also too wordy, so…

Ehh, I think the point is that there’s a lot of people who don’t play “top games” on their pc, if any games at all (non-gamers/console gamers). A lot of people just need file management/storage, a browser, an office suite, and (oftentimes) an email client. Most everything else is done on a “smart phone” and a “streaming device/smart tv”. And Linux has come a long way that those types of users wouldn’t need to touch CLI any more than they would Powershell

The selling point is that it’s free and it works, with (more recently) just a small learning curve… and you don’t have to throw away a perfectly good computer because of “planned obsolescence”. Hell, people switch between iPhones and Android all the time, just so the family is all on the same system. It’s a small learning curve, but manageable for many people

If you feel like you would be alienated from playing games with friends because you use Linux, then that would put you in the other half of the population that don’t want to switch. And honestly, is that any different than being “locked-in” with a console or phone? Even with cross-platform-play becoming more common, that still doesn’t cover every “top game”

I’m really just saying that a large portion of people don’t have an interest in gaming like that. They maybe have a console, a steam deck, or don’t game, and their “home computer” is for personal computing

Now Adobe and AutoCad are another issue when it comes to “business computing” and a harder sell (even though there’s good alternatives). But a vast majority of home users just need a computer that works, and they don’t have the money to suddenly buy a new pc that’s “compatible with Microsoft”. Just give them a free OS that they can click around and figure out, and they’ll probably want to keep their current pc if they can. One of the hardest things is teaching people “how to install a new OS” and how easy it can be, instead of just “updating” or buying a whole new device

Conspiracy time: Companies are trying to lock people into proprietary software and move home-computing to their phone, so that the average user’s overall computing power is diminished and monitorable (plus the profit incentive). Easily controlled and exploited. “Free and open = Viruses and incompatibility… stick with what you know/trust and ‘keep your information safe with us’”

If you’re a pc gamer or power-user, you’re probably already going to be acquainted with your hardware and use an OS that suits those needs. But most users are just browsing the internet and editing/storing files