Heck yeah.
I am very much impressed with graphics. There are many times where I'll just take a moment, slow down, and look around in a game to appreciate the graphics and artwork. People put a lot of work into everything in a game from the character models to the textures to very level background/scenery itself. There are people who labor for hours and hours of their lives so that level 22 of ABC game could look just the way they wanted it to or the textures on the could look just right. Programmers also spend countless hours attempting to get the game to render everything the artists would like and then some. Great graphics don't just happen by themselves, people labor to create them.
What's more, the graphics we have today really are amazing especially when you look back on some of gaming's origins. I remember playing the original Commander Keen, Duke Nukem, and VGA Trek games for the computer. They were awesome! Who remembers the jump from Commander Keen 1-3 to Commander Keen 4-6? The graphics change was immediately evident. It looked even more amazing than the original. Fastforward many years to today and games are pretty mindblowing. We went from games that had the bare minimum needed to be a semblance of a game to poetry in motion.
I think people are spoiled and greedy though. They've gotten used to having a certain level of graphics. It's no longer something to be astounded at or appreciated... it's just there. It's like people feel they deserve a level of graphics and then turn around instantly to write off anything of that level or below. Even some of the most amazing visuals ever seen in gaming history are written off with a "meh." Then people have the nerve to go online and say that graphics don't matter or talk about how XYZ is more important. All the hardwork that people put into making those graphics is instantly flushed down the toilet.
So yes, long time gamers are impressed with graphics because we understand the effort that goes into them and we remember what graphics used to be like and can see just how far gaming has come.
