Why is our industry still obsessed with blissful graphics?

Bought a gaming magazine lately? Or maybe been on your favourite gaming site (let us down slowly, won't you?), and read a review? I'd put more than a beer or two on it having a section or maybe even a rating of the graphics. aGamingSite looks into the obsession we have and asks: why?

[jc48573]

I know graphics are not everything, but i think it's time developers start updating their games to look better from what it used to be years ago.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

I love when people say they don't care about graphics.

Anyone else that don't care about graphics want to start a petition for sony and microsoft to have their next gen consoles be limited to N64 graphics so that developers can focus on the gameplay and story?

[christheredhead]

Well of course there is an obvious standard for this gen, but with that being said i dont care about graphics. not really even a little bit. as long as it looks decent by the standards of current tech im fine with that. i dont need the most outstanding photo ultra hyper realistic graphics ever. give me a good art style and use the current hardware and ill be fine.

gamers bicker over graphics like it someone matters when it doesn't. i often see gamers getting suckered in to buying games based on the hype that looking good will mean the game is good, which is rarely the case. less emphasis on graphics and more emphasis on content/gameplay would be nice.

[gamingdroid]

I care about graphics, just a lot less than a lot of other things including game play, story, artistic direction, where my friends are at and how I can communicate with them if it is an online game.

So in short, I care about graphics... it just tends to be at the bottom of my list.

I will take Wii graphics any day, if game play is top notch!

[DaTruth]

Hey, better they be obsessed with graphics than sales!

Why is this industry so obsessed with sales? That's a better question! Does anybody care how many people bought Civics or Corollas?

[MrBeatdown]

@Outside_ofthe_Box

You're totally warping the meaning behind that.

I could say I don't care what I have for dinner. It doesn't mean I'd be happy with fresh dog crap.

Obviously, whoever says they don't care about graphics doesn't feel they need to state what should be obvious. The basic expectation that graphics should meet current standards shouldn't need to be explicitly stated, just like it shouldn't need to be clarified that when I say I don't care what I have for dinner, I don't mean I'm open to eating what we find in the garbage can.

[badz149]

don't you just love it when things you like look pretty? just look at Uncharted for example...looks gorgeous and plays awesome! not just that, it also tells good stories!

and where would Nvidia and ATI be if people are not looking for great graphics?

[gamingdroid]

***and where would Nvidia and ATI be if people are not looking for great graphics?***

Ironically, they are exactly where they are, as a nice market now, due to the "graphicz!"

@DaTruth

***Hey, better they be obsessed with graphics than sales!***

That depends, if it is an online game, I prefer to be where the biggest online community is at.

Having people to play with, tends to be a factor with multi-player games.

***Does anybody care how many people bought Civics or Corollas?***

To some degree I do, as I own a Corolla. Getting parts for it is a lot easier and they will be around a lot longer, if there is a lot of people a particular car not to mention the benefit of cheaper parts.

In a similar vein, if a game sold well it is likely to be well supported long after it was sold.

[DaTruth]

"***Does anybody care how many people bought Civics or Corollas?***

To some degree I do, as I own a Corolla. Getting parts for it is a lot easier and they will be around a lot longer, if there is a lot of people a particular car not to mention the benefit of cheaper parts."

To the degree you talk about it everyday? I don't think you qualify as "obsessed" with Civic and Corolla sales! You're just trying to justify it by grasping at straw!

[BitbyDeath]

I think there is a big difference that is escaping everybody and that is graphics do not have to be realisitc to look good.

I would be happy if more games looked as good as Plants Vs Zombies or Pixel Junk Monsters because they are easy to look at and do not have pixels sticking out in all the wrong places.

The problem with developers is that they aim too far ahead of themselves and never leave the time or processing power to polish off their work.

Graphics is an art and a lot of the developers out there are not finishing their painting.

[gamingdroid]

You know there is only so much you can do with 5-year old hardware. Even Naughty Dog recently said the graphic leap (or should I say incremental increase) is likely to be relatively minimal and we have seen that repeatedly.

You want graphics, go PC or wait for the Wii U!

That said, most of the games I play repeatedly isn't due to the graphics, it is all due to game play like Mass Effect, CoD, Gears of War, StarCraft, and for story line again like Mass Effect and Bioshock.

[ZombieAssassin]

Once we get closer to photo-realism is when I actually think people will stop comparing 24/7, only because....welll most games will look superb and the funny thing is then people will prolly compare more artistic and different graphic styles.

[Saladfax]

Which will actually be either more interesting or more infuriating to consider. More interesting because maybe enlightened discussion can come out of it; a discourse on the pros and cons of different stylings.

But just wait until hordes of screaming children, spouting how much better their favorite game's aesthetic style is.

Y'know, screaming about a completely subjective, opinion-based thing. Yeah, my money's on infuriating.

[Agheil]

MAIN Thing is that it provides immersion of the player into the game, (along with sound,gameplay, story, etc.)

[AsianOnRoute69]

Cuz better graphics = more realism = greater immersion = happy consumers

[i_like_ff7]

games aren't just about immersion and realism. Realism isn't fun 90% of the time. Are the soldiers in afganistan having fun in war? Realism is only a setup for gameplay options. If uncharted was real, drake wouldn't be hopping on walls like a squirrel.

[NegativeCreep427]

They may be a bit lighter in weight and a bit smaller in frame that Nathan Drake, but it's not like such actions aren't feasible and are entirely unrealistic.

But even so-called "realistic" games like military shooters can really be seen as not very realistic with regard to physics, AI, and ballistic factors. "Realistic" really only refers to graphical style and artwork.

Oh how do I hate the fact that shotguns in FPSs only hit targets if they are about 15 feet from you or closer. Shotguns in real life (with bird shot rounds) can be accurate up to 40 feet. I'm not just talking about slugs. If you take that into consideration, those "realistic" games are actually not very realistic at all.

[i_like_ff7]

Lol there are gymnasts who can do similar stunts that drake can do but now where near as fast and no where near as agile. Thats not even an arguement.

Uncharted is just an example. There's hundreds of other games i can name.

LOL Elder Scrolls realistic? Call of Duty Realistic? Mario Realistic? Final Fantasy realistic? Games are not the same thing as simulators.

There's a game more realistic then anything. Its called real life.

[nycredude]

I_like_f7

Real life isn't a game bro. Trying dying and see what happens. Don't forget to save first.

[Agheil]

Realism doesnt always mean immersion.
Immersion= Gets you to believe what's happening and forget the real world
Realism= The graphics,physics, etc simulate something in real life.

[SageHonor]

Technology is better. Graphics are more important for gamers. We want things to look good and it adds to immersion i guess.

But in my opinion graphics does not equal fun. Gameplay and story is more important to me than graphics

[GraveLord]

There's more to games than graphics.(Example: Minecraft)

[Flummoxxed]

If they gameplay is on point, nobody pays the graphics any attention...

[JsonHenry]

Because the consumers want better graphics. Duh.

[_Aarix_]

What about gameplay. Games like Rachet and Clank, first 3 crash bandicoots and jak and daxter were much better games than uncharted and those games werent pushing graphic limits.

[DigitalRaptor]

Gameplay goes without saying. It's not like Naughty Dog focuses less on gameplay, story, or anything else because they are pushing the best visuals on consoles in the industry.

Consumers want more impressive graphics to look at. That goes without saying too. It's more appealing to the eyes. Imagine if all games were as stunning as Uncharted 3, but kept their own art styles and gameplay... oh if only......

[Jio]

Because now we can achieve graphics that were once only possible in pre-rendered cutscenes. It's actually incredible, while graphics don't make the game, they've come a long way and deserve to be an important aspect of games.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

""Because now we can achieve graphics that were once only possible in pre-rendered cutscenes.""

My god, somebody finally gets it.

[Troll-without-Bridge]

Graphics are important for a certain segment of gamers, yes. Usually good graphics serve to lure casual gamers in, as its the first thing they notice.

More experienced gamers dont really care.

[Yomiro]

Because we are living in the 21 century.

[NegativeCreep427]

because the Playstation 3 holds the high ground in this regard.

I have a better question: "Why is such a great portion of the this industry still content with 20th century storage mediums (e.g. DVD) for video game software?"

Why is "pushing the envelope" now pretty much seen as an extreme tactic?

[Yomiro]

I agree my friend.

[TheColbertinator]

Some consoles push the envelope of graphical prowess and shatter limitations.

Other consoles charge for online play.

Its just the way of the world.

[_Aarix_]

The graphics are great now, until the next gen, just focus on gamplay and the overall fun factor and not butt-f***ing our wallets. Freaking season pass and online pass and dlc my ass.

[Bathyj]

Why do we like a pretty face, long legs and big breasts?

We are visual creatures, we like what looks good.

Personally I think the area of gaming with the most room to improve is AI, but the insistence of all this online deathmatching means single player gaming takes a backseat and AI has barely improved, certainly not at the rate graphics has.

[caboose32]

Couldn't of said it better myself.

People seem to forget that we are indeed visual creatures, that's why we like arts, certain designs, and graphics. It's aesthetically pleasing to our mind.

It's the same thing with sound and music. The better sounding something is, the more pleasing it is to our ears and mind.

[Boody-Bandit]

Quoted from the article:
"Even games such as Call of Duty surprisingly go for gameplay over the visual quality."

"Call of Duty has run at 60fps for HD consoles, and this is another step they have taken to improve the gameplay, making sure there is no hitches and that it runs smoothly.

COD does anything but run smoothly online without hitches. And it's popularity has more to do with it's ease of use than anything else. It's simply an easy game to pick up and play. That's it's main appeal. That and it's outrageous and over the top gameplay w/ perk system.

As far as them going for gameplay over visuals. That is because Kotick is too freaking cheap and he knows his COD fanbase are sheep and will buy anything he throws at them. That is why they are still using an engine from last generation.

Graphics are now, and always will be, important.
Plenty of games have it all. Just look at some of the titles that already came out this year and coming out soon. Hell look at Batman Arkham City coming out tomorrow. It has excellent visuals and gameplay.

Besides, how many of us go out looking for a girl with a nice personality over looks? Exactly

Oh man that girl has such a sweet disposition. Plus it's a major bonus she doesn't require a mask for Halloween.

[The_Nameless_One]

Because gamers are obsessed with it.

[kornbeaner]

Part of the reason why the criticism exist is because of the industry itself. Sony and Microsoft always tout at how their machine can deliver the best possible graphics. Graphics that only one machine can do and not the other. PC engine designers do it as well. They will show a snippet of what maybe a new IP on PC looking amazing, only to find out that the machine they ran that demo on was running three graphics cards, a top end CPU with Top end ram and some sort of cooling system that would make you wish you were a CPU at summertime.

It isn't until about 3 years into a generation that manufactures stop worrying about the visual concepts and start paying more attention to gameplay, but the arguments still occur as gamers who have been primed to believe impossible graphics are coming refuse to give up on the idea of one day controlling Toy Story like characters in real-time.

[rello91]

Because Amazing graphics make my eyes feel better lol

[maxmill]

Because ppl dont care about gameplay anymore unfortunately, you know how many times someone has told me a game sux because of the gfx?

Its really sad (RAGE)

[brettyd]

Good graphics add alot to a game. I feel alot more immersed in a game when it looks great (uncharted, gears, crysis, killzone) a game with crappy graphics or graphical issues (Rage ps3) completely pulls me out of the experience.

[gypsygib]

The better the graphics the more pleasing the game is to the eye and what's pleasing to the eye is enjoyable. It's an appreciation for peoples' computer and artistic talents.

Also, better graphics make games more immersive.

What would you rather read, a comic with black and white stick figures or a beautifully drawn and colored one? Despite both with the exact same dialogue you'd prefer the nicer looking one.

Graphics and gameplay: both are necessary, neither one is sufficient.

[empireblood]

Ni no Kuni has better graphics than uncharted 3 or battlefield 3 IMO

[gcolley]

especially when AI sucks bad in so many games