Pretty neat.

I don't know, it doesn't look all THAT great. It seems like you really have to look for things in order to appreciate it now graphically. And if those are photos, chances are the real thing won't look as good while you're playing the game . Sort of like the differences between 900p and 1080p or in some cases 1080p vs 720p. If you just play games to want to enjoy games you'll never notice it or care for that matter.

We've reached the point this generation I believe where realistic graphics can't impress that much or don't really matter.

I don't know what you mean by scatter, but I can only guess if that's a term for describing objects and how they're utilized in a game environment.

This just sounds like stuff only a game designer or hardcore enthusiast in game design could appreciate.  Not so much a gamer.   Not that I don't appreciate advances in game technology, but it just feels like gaming has gone the way of the music industry.  Better equipment and output, but the soul is lost and no one feels like they're really getting a special game (or sountrack) so they end up pirating or waiting until a price drop (music pirating in the other case).  I just don't feel excited about this if everyone is only going to go for realism.

I have played Drive Club. It looks very pretty, (though 30fps in a racing game rubs me the wrong way) but it still doesn't strike me as presenting the same kind of vast leap over PS3/360's best as previous generational transitions did. Honestly, there hasn't been a single game on PS4 or Xbox One so far that has "amazed" me. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty that look very beautiful, like Uncharted 4, Ryse Son of Rome, Star Wars Battlefront, etc, but honestly, the last time a game "amazed" me was Uncharted 2 back in 2009.

At this point I suspect I'll have to wait for the next generation of consoles to see the quantum leap over PS3/360 that I expected this gen.

How much of a leap are we talking about here ? 

Are we talking about ray traced quality dynamic global illumination, pre-filtered quality antialiasing, more exotic translucency, or more sub-pixel geometry ?

I'd be surprised if the Xbox Scorpio has nothing to offer for you when it's 30x more powerful than last gen consoles in practice ...

This gen its definitely PBR that is the new standard, and other new ways to do more accurate rendering. Some games already have GI or light bounce, which is pretty expensive in open world games [ they managed to squeeze it in on my last project ], but it can be easily achieved in corridor shooters.

Basically game engines over time are just integrating tech thats been around for a while from non real-time ones like Vray, as the hardware gets more powerful.

Also draw-calls were a big bottle neck last gen. Thats going to be largely a thing of the past now that many shaders/objects can be rendered in one pass. Releasing much overhead from the cpu.

On the asset side, photogrammetry is going to be a growing trend for realistic games.

Here is something for the interested:

http://www.frostbite.com/2016/03/photogrammetry-and-star-wars-battlefront/

I'm not referring to any specific technology, but rather to the more subjective matter of overall visual impression.

There may well be games on Scorpio that provide that leap I've been waiting for, I can't say yet. I'll know it when I see it.

You're asking for a pony ... 

I'm asking for something the 5th, 6th, and 7th gen all had no problem with providing me with, but which the 8th gen has so far just hasn't delivered. I'm asking to be wowed.

"Wowed" in what way exactly ? Be specific!