Are long time gamers less impressed with graphics than newer gamers?

[The Ghost of RubangB]

pearljammer said:

The Ghost of RubangB said:

 

I can say all this while saying graphics don't matter because... graphics don't matter. It didn't stop me from playing the hell out of Sonic Spinball and Gunstar Heroes, and it didn't stop me from playing some really ugly games on the SNES or any other system. Hell, I play roguelikes.

   

I think graphics do matter. To some people. Not to all.

I love hiking. The more challenging the traverse, the better. The view when I reach the summit is the icing on the cake, aan added bonus. But the challenge is the reason I love hiking.  Others, however, hike for the view. Personally, I think that is a completely valid preference. Now they wouldn't hike if they didn't like it, but the thing they prefer the most out of the whole experience is that view.

Who are you to say graphics do not matter with such finality. It may not matter in all cases, but it certainly does in some for those who do care. 

 

 That's a good analogy.  They can enjoy whatever they want out of hiking or games, but if they ONLY wanted the view, they'd look at some photos or a film, so I think the people who are the biggest graphics fanatics are being hypocritical when they knock some of the funnest games ever because they don't look good enough.  The graphics are part of a whole, and while they may be your favorite part, they absolutely have to be complimenting the part of the experience you enjoy.  I only dislike graphics when they get in the way and make it unplayable, and I'd only dislike a hike if it was somehow so ugly it wasn't worth it anymore.

Now if 2 games were exactly the same in every single way except for the graphics, I'd prefer the one with better graphics (like say, Okami PS2 vs. Okami Wii), but not every time.  I'd still rather play SMB1, 2, or 3 on a NES than play Super Mario All-Stars.  But if 2 games are completely different and I can only pick one of them, graphics will have absolutely nothing to do with my decision.

I'm one of the "games as high art" type of nerds, and I could care less about counting pixels or colors or particles or whatever.  It's either beautiful to me or it's not.  I'm just more of an elitist asshole when it comes to games because I can pay $10 to go to a museum and see dozens or hundreds of art pieces, but each game will cost me $30 to $50, so I have to really pick and choose which ones are fun enough carefully.