personally i believe that graphics now days are used as a tool to improve ones first impression of a game, after all the first time one is made aware of a game is either through a screen or gameplay video.
nintendo and sega fan since i was old enough to hold a game controller.
note: my games collection on my profile is only 20ish% complete, i've got a boatload of 360,saturn and dreamcast games to add and a few ps3 games, thanks :)