Graphics are the thing most people concentrate on far too much imo. It makes you wonder how games years ago did so well doesn't it? I mean all those 2D,Text and ASCII games from years back.
You would think people wouldn't want to play them with the terrible graphics or no graphics at all.

Games are about game play yet ever since i can remember people break out in sweats about the games graphical look.
I have played games for far too many years and i never was interested in graphics, yes i got excited when things looked better but that was just the sign of the times. The thing i did notice however is that as graphics improved the more consumers wanted it improved and in turn the more game play suffered.

The reason game play suffered was because of the graphics craze, game producers threw as much money, time and energy into out doing their competition. People who gamed through the late 90s will remember the drop in game play quality.
Games that used to have long story's and for instance if they had 40-90 hours of game play they suddenly only had 4-8 hours. It was a huge drop. It is pretty much still here today. Obviously there have been exceptions to the rule but in general that is the way it has been.

The way i see it these days asking devs to spend time on graphics is like asking the ice cream van guy to wash his van to make the ice cream taste better.
You need to ask yourself this. Can i tell what i am doing in the game, do mobs look as they should look, does a tree look like a tree etc. If the answer to this is yes then why this need to make it better?

In the next 10-20 years gaming graphics will hit a wall because it will be pretty much like playing with real life. When that day comes i will cheer, not because games look real but because people who make games will be able to concentrate 100% on game play.