I really don’t understand why so many people “need” office. Free alternatives have been out there for years, and for what most people use it for it’s good enough. Heck, Google Docs even has some significant advantages over Office. I’ve asked people why they bought it, and most really don’t even have a good reason. Familiarity isn’t even a legitimate excuse for most people with the introduction of the ribbon and other changes as of late.
I have no problem with people buying it, but to me it’s probably the lamest reason to be tied to Windows. There is a lot of software that doesn’t have an legitimate alternative available for other platforms, and that really ties you to Windows like CAD software.
A word processor is not a big selling point in 2013.