I have no problem dropping IE support for app-like experiences. Honestly, people on IE are mostly at work or don't know much about technology and are less likely to play games. I don't see how asking the user to install another browser is bad compared to having to install steam or be limited to your flavor of mobile OS or console.
> "people on IE are mostly at work or don't know much about technology..."
IE9 is pretty solid in many ways. Runs javascript faster than Firefox. Jquery animated interface effects and so on run noticeably smoother and quicker in IE9. My main browser is Firefox and I like it, but I've noticed IE9's faster performance when testing.
It is not an issue of users who want to run WebGL games, it is an issue of developers who want to target customers who run IE. In that sense, you are still virtually forced to use Flash if you want to hit the largest possible market.
Niche / hardcore game developers can potentially ignore this but if you are going for mass market you really can't.
As a web developer at a creative agency, it's impossible to pitch an interactive 3D simulation or data visualization project to a client if it won't work in IE. I'd be happy if even CSS 3D transforms were widely supported.
Right, that is why Microsoft did not include.webgl support in IE, because then the web platform would.compete with their Windows PC gaming monopoly. To get around that people just need to another browser, which is what people obviously should do, unless they want to be.forced to buy Windows pcs for.the rest of their gaming lives.