VB died because of .NET and VB.NET. The syntaxes were similar, but VB.NET was much closer to a "real programming language" in feeling and complexity than VB was

VB died because of .NET and VB.NET. The syntaxes were similar, but VB.NET was much closer to a "real programming language" in feeling and complexity than VB was, and that's not what anyone who used VB actually wanted. Microsoft was more interested in developing .NET and C# to battle Java, and less interested in developing and promoting VB, their own successful and original product.