PC gamers in the mid-to-late 90s apparently started turning up their noses at turn-based strategy games in favour of the new hotness of the Command & Conquers and Warcrafts of the day
A review of X-Com Apocalypse from the time:
"to be honest, the new real-time combat is so good I really can't see why anyone would want to play the much slower (and often infuriating) turn-based tactical game"
:kitty-cri-screm:
spoiler
That's like preferring Diablo over Fallout
I like RTS way more than turn based strategy but i basically only play StarCraft because it's the only RTS with an active 1v1 ladder
I always prefer TBS. RTS games feel a lot more based on reflexes and fast action to me, while turn-based games let me focus on pure strategy.
RTS can be about speed and reflexes certainly but it's also about managing your own effective actions as though they are another resource. Flying a dropship into the back of your base while pushing the front seems tough when viewed but realistically unless I'm a pro gamer god I'm probably only really controlling the army at the front and using the dropship as a distraction. Forcing you to split your attention.
For a single player experience I quite enjoy TBS but playing against humans it's so much more fun to me to play RTS
I grew up loving StarCraft but I really dislike base building. The best 1v1 RTS for my money is Wargame: Red Dragon, though it suffers from a tiny playerbase.
I enjoy the base building and macro management myself