[Axeia]

I don't think not being able to run 'old' software on a new operating system is something (ex-)windows users would be too suprised about, there is plenty of software that ran on win95/98/me but wouldn't on XP, and Vista has it's own share of incompatible software as well.

I agree with you that openOffice is probably a whole lot more than most users need, I however don't think that the way to go is supporting old software.

I think these users are simply not provided with the right software for what they're trying to archieve. They should be using software better suited for the task.
OpenOffice is aimed at a target audience that wants a 'full' office suite on par with microsoft office.

If someone doesn't need more than WP8 then that someone should be using a wordprocessor who doesn't try to provide all possible features but instead focusses on being simple.