In the era you mentioned, most new PCs came bundled with Microsoft Works. A basic word processor feels like a sensible inclusion in any OS that is useful to consumers out of the box, it was Works that was more problematic for the competition.

The floor has fallen out since then and there are so many free or cheap office productivity options. Works stopped being a thing eons ago and I would guess WordPad is rarely chosen. Disuse is a good reason to say goodbye.