I think they became less interesting because they became more homogenous, more standardized, more commercialized
It's like the internet. It was more interesting when everything was spread out and you felt like you had to explore it. Now it's all the same content collected on the same 5 sites, and it feels like there's nothing actually interesting out there anymore
I think it started becoming less interesting as it grew more powerful and with it came more capable displays and GUI interface, and before you know it, computers are indistinguishable from a damn television.
At least for me as computers started showing more realistic graphics, it became less abstract, less magical, less interesting. After all, reality is pretty boring...Not sure how we collectively missed that fact...
There's probably also an aspect of "The computer used to be a place you would go, now it's a rectangle that comes everywhere with you"
It's definitely less magical when it is everywhere and in everythin
You're not alone in missing the magic though. I miss it too