To me it's weird that people are assuming that either these are the PS3 graphics or that the "real" graphics will be somehow a lot better. And people saying "but the previous screenshots and videos have looked a lot better" make me feel like I'm seeing completely different materials than most of the posters here are.

For example, people have been posting this image as an example of these "higher quality" graphics:



It looks slightly better, yes, but the characters still feel really plastic-y to mee (they're like from some wax cabinet) and their gear doesn't look like it's made of any real material (I love the way all the clothing looks like it's made of actual fabric in the current version!). Also, to me this screenshot looks like it's from a dungeon cutscene...

This one, for example, does seem like it's from actual gameplay:


I don't know, does that really look better than the current graphics to some people?

Here's a comparison of the level of detail on character model:



When I look at those screenshots and videos - other than the cutscene parts which are breathtakingly beautiful - I feel like I'm looking at a much older game, certainly not the best-graphics-on-the-market MMO. All the 2.0 materials I've seen so far have left me with a feeling they're taking a huge step backwards.

Does it matter? Not for some. To me, yes. Of course it's difficult to judge when I haven't really seen it with my own eyes while playing the game - as playing something yourself leaves you with a different impression than watching the same thing from screenshots or video.

I just hope they'd release some screenshots and gameplay material with the highest graphics. Then we could stop arguing whether the high-end graphics will truly be on the next level compared to the stuff we've seen so far or not.