Why is realistic graphics so important?

[ilovetogame]

great gamecube and xbox graphics still amaze me. they got to the point where graphics were starting to get to the point where they are good enough to make it so better graphics won't make the games better at all. ps3 and 360 made a huge leap with the help of hd to get to the point where there's no point to graphics improving much beyond that.

when looking at a very good looking gamecube game like twilight princess all i want above those graphics to make them pretty much be perfect is a few more polygons on character models, get textures up to ps360 levels, hd, and improved lighting and special effects, and then enough graphical power to be able to have 50-100 enemies/characters at that graphical level on screen at once. basically ps360 level graphics.

the only point to having more powerful systems than the ps3 and 360 is to be able to have tons of characters on screen at once, maybe a little bit better animations, much better AI, keep framerate smooth, faster loading times, a little bit better physics, and subtle effects that makes the game feel like a living world like breeze rustling branches of trees or bushes shaking realistically as you brush by them, or rain slowly turning dirt to mud, etc. Of that list the only thing that actually makes the technical side of graphics any better(something you'd notice in a screenshot) than they are today is being able to push out more characters on screen at once. the other things have to do with making the game environment feel more lush and alive and fluid and also making the AI better. once the next gen hits additional power beyond that is gonna do absolutely nothing to make games any better outside of those two things i just mentioned.

thats a big reason why nintendo was so smart this gen cuz they knew graphics are nearing their functional limit (which they should reach by next gen). so they started working towards advancing interface technology with the wii which along with online community and features, harddrive space, reliability, and software medium are gonna be the only hardware things that matter after next gen.