Is World of Warcraft creating a desire for more role-playing in D&D?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I find it pretty hypocritical how eager some people are to slam WoW and its players. Let's take a look at some statements:

"D&D is for nerds, people shouldn't waste time on it"
"D&D is just hack and slash, WoD is the only real roleplaying one"
"WoW is lame, and people who play it turn into mindless powergamers"

How exactly is the third statement different from the first two?
And it's hardly an exaggeration, I've heard people slamming 4E over the fact that one of the designers considered (and ultimately discarded) the concept of "aggro". I'm not trying to call anyone an elitist game-bigot, but some of the statements I've heard on these boards really point that way.

It's the classic nerd hierarchy. Whatever YOU'RE into is fine, because those Trekkies are always the real nerds!

It's ironic that people who, as a group, decry picking on others of alleged higher social station race to do the same thing when given the chance.

 

[Odhanan]

Also, I'm wondering the extent to which D&D is a formal game, and the extent to which "playing D&D" is a name given to a certain kind of social gathering. In my experience, for example, female players (some of whom also play WoW) are particularly prone to regard "playing D&D" as a chance to get together with friends, snack, and have fun pretending to be an elf, and barely seem to care about the mechanical capabilities of their characters at all. Does the future of D&D lie in promoting that aspect of the hobby?

From experience bringing new people to the game? Totally, yes.