I believe tape was much more common in Europe, the 1541 was expensive. My second-hand C64 (my first computer!) did come with a 1541, but that wasn't until the early 90s…
I don’t think many on the western side of the Atlantic appreciate how relatively poor, and tight fisted, much of Europe was and remains, even the good bits.
The screen of "Turbo 250 By Mr. Z" felt like magic. Not only could you load a game in one minute instead of ten, but you suddenly had extra commands available in the basic prompt.