It really wasn't obvious in the early 2000's that the browser was the "proper" (I'll use the same word that you use, though I disagree with it) to display information, run software etc. I liked Delphi but while the adaptation to modern versions of Windows and future development was always going to be an issue, the main problem was company maangment, sales and mishandling of what was a good product in its time (up to Delphi 7).

Use the right tool for the job. Desktop apps may indeed be preferable to browser based apps in some cases. Actually, I would argue that it isn't obvious that browsers are better for anything other than what they were built for - rendering and browsing hypermedia content.

Now, whether or not Delphi per-se is a Good Idea as a means of building desktop apps is a different issue, and I'll grant you that I'm not necessarily a big Delphi fan. But that's not because I find desktop apps to be inherently bad.