I agree with that, but they don't affect which games you buy. Yes, games like Fallout and Portal, among others, play better because of the better resolution, and good physics, but you're going to buy Portal because the reflection on the Portal gun looks good, or because the smoke effects look more believable right?

I don't understand, especially with the small graphical jump the PS4 shows, why graphics make such a huge deal in forums. Take Pikmin for Wii U for instance. It's not going to look any better then the best PS3/360 exclusives, and it will look worse then anything available on PS4/720, but most people will agree, it's just as important as any other exclusive, and it will get a good amount of hype.sales.

So why do people always argue which game looks better? Does it matter anymore? This isn't like the N64/PS1 games, where high level graphics were needed to run games in 3D environments smoothly, and with a good amount of physics behind them (e.g. Super Mario 64, OoT).

Because of your avatar, I always think you're doing this crazy type of laugh. I had a teacher who would always walk away laughing if you asked him about his opinion about a bad teacher, and your avatar kinda reminds me about that.

It's like your laughing like a crazy maniac all the time .

No offence, if you feel offence was given, bet my avatar says I want to Pika-Party all the time.

lol no it's fine... the avatar is to be funny

Graphics are not everything to me. Sure they are nice, but I love games for being fun to play. Jrpgs do not have the best graphics but they are my favorite type of games.

Well graphics have motivated some purchases. But the masses don't just care about the most cutting edge visuals.

I'm excited about new hardware because even current games could look more polished. I'd like to see smoother frame rates, sharper textures, less pop up, etc. I'd also like to see split-screen multiplayer in more games. More powerful consoles could provide all of that.

A lot of people on the web (often Sony fans) like to boast about graphics, but clearly the masses don't just focus on that alone. Otherwise the Wii wouldn't and DS wouldn't have dominated the market. Xbox Live Arcade is also very successful without pushing cutting edge visuals.

My advice, don't concern yourself with graphic whores. They are the minority.

No big role. I would choose great aesthetics (like Muramasa) over great graphics (like Mario Galaxy) any day.

Graphics do matter. I don't like cartoony/anime games at all.

I can live with Borderlands graphics, but it would be a lot better with realistic graphics.

Graphics don't matter or Dwarf Fortress would be a game many of you would have heard of. The only reason I don't play it is its ASCII graphics which makes it hard to comprehend. That, and I suppose its UI isn't exactly great either. When graphics become too bad, it can break the game and even if it's not that bad, it can break the immersion. That said, some things are nicer to look at than others, so it's not only bad graphics that matter. A game isn't just the sum of its parts (especially not a sum excluding some parts) but something more.

I don't really care about graphics, it's more about gameplay. I have a decent computer (w/Crossfire AMD 7970s), but lately I've mainly been playing NES/SNES/Genesis games. Go figure.

No, not really in the games i like to play. I'd rather be reading the 2nd disc of Xenogears than playing the umpthiest 'awesome' looking fps, or ff13 for that matter. As in story over graphics, aesthetics over graphics, music over graphics, gameplay over graphics.
I also really disliked the amount of 'photorealism' in character models developers have been trying to reach for for so many years.

When you say "the masses" are you only refering to the casual gamers who bought Wii's, or are you including more traditional gamers who bought PS3/360's?

LOL Thanks.

I think I agree with you, during the 6th gen, I only ever heard X-Box fans (in person) talk about graphics, and a lot of harcore gamers played PS2 back then. I have all the systems (well not a PS3 ATM because mine broke, but I am replacing it this fall when I'm certain PS4 isn't BC), and to be honest I don't care about graphics.

BTW, about split screen, the 7th gen was one of the biggest jumps in graphical performance between gens. If split screen gaming has been removed from games nowdays, it's not because of the weakness of the machinery, it's because of the way the market has shifted. Nowadays people play online, or devs are just too lazy to make a solid split screen setting. After all Mario/Party/Kart has featured 4 player split screen since the N64 days, and the Wii is the weakest system at the moment.