Why do so many people seem to prefer the guitar to the piano?

As someone who butchers music on both instruments (I wouldn't grace it by calling it playing) I'll say the Guitar is more portable, cheaper (than a piano, not an entry level keyboard like the Yamaha PSR-E323 I have) and has one other difference. Some people never develop the hand independence for Piano, their brains just aren't wired for it. I've not heard of people having hand independence problems with guitar. Guitars can be tuned by anyone thanks to digital tuners. Pianos are best tuned by a professional. Another aspect of guitars is you can buy a wall hook and keep one in your dinky urban trendy studio apartment. A Piano?, well... maybe a vertical "honky tonk" but it still takes a crew to move it. Yes I consider a Piano a wider ranging more polyphonic instrument but is has significant downsides when it comes to cost, size, maintenance, etc. I have Piano music as part of my classical stuff and like it for certain moods but in practical terms guitar is simply more practical for "the masses".

The pianos a 'superior' instrument based upon what evidence or deductions ?

The piano didn't revolutionize rock and roll. Didn't evolve the front line of music for the past 40 years or so.

It's a beautiful instrument just like any other.

To deem one instrument superior over another is purely your opinion.

In future, might I suggest keeping your inane opinions to yourself unless questioned.

Since a guitar generally only has 6 strings, people think it'll be easier to learn. You can also pick up a guitar and take it with you without hurting yourself. And for a guy, a guitar is a "chick" magnet. You can get a cheap guitar for far less then you can buy a cheap piano.

I have played both guitar and piano. With an acoustic guitar, there is no power source needed, as portable digital keyboards are easy to carry around, you still need a power source. In my opinion, guitars are also easier to play.

Portable, cheaper, quick to learn a few chords, and more instant fun at parties. And it's unbelievably versatile. Guitars contribute to every kind of music on the planet - they're fantastic in just about every way you can name.

From an image standpoint - guitarists look cool (because they are cool) , and kids want to mimic their guitar heroes. Think about it - for rock keyboardists you've got Elton John (gay) Freddie Mercury (gay/dead) ... Billy Joel. (not gay, not dead, but not that cool either) Stevie Wonder (very cool, but blind) ... Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson ...(cool but British) and the only real keyboard rock star... Gregg Allman. And that's about it. I mean, for every keyboard hero there are 1000 guitar heroes out there. .

But seriously now - you should learn keyboard skills if you're serious about music. Fine to start with a guitar however -

No......I think they prefer the guitar player........