The Daily Grind: Graphics don't matter?

Agreed, for games and relationships. It's really a fact that if someone isn't somewhat attractive to you in some way then you really can't make a relationship successful (there are, however, apparently a lot of people on earth though and I've been surprised at what some people call attractive, though it IS in their eyes and not mine). Entertainment is the same- look at Avatar, it had a crappy story but it was damn purdy, and it had lotsa asplosions so a lot of people enjoyed it. Age of Conan has excellent graphics and good gameplay to, it's not nearly as bad as it was, and melee is a lot more active, when I was playing earlier this summer Wiccana was pretty full so it looked like it had a decent amount of subscribers. The way graphics are presented means a lot too. WoW looks cartoony and childish, and now most of the people playing are fairly childish, and I understand the graphics fit the fantasy theme and art style, but I, personally, would rather be in an Everquest sort of theme, some epic world full of epic adventures, it still retails some of the color and the fantasy theme, but it's a lot more serious in how it presents the visuals.

this is an awesome comment and so true. as a gamer, choosing an MMO is like choosing a Wife from a Russian Bridal service. (not that id know all about that...) "Ok so ....grindfest with playstation graphics....pass......hmm solid community, beautiful graphics, somewhat boring....Oh wow...very fun, good looks, even tho she has a monthly cost..."

ok that analogy sucked bigtime but you all get the jist of it. When looking at a new game, most people will balance graphics with other factors like cost and gameplay.
AOC used to be the hottest chick in the bar with the personality of a fly, but in the years since the launch she was found herself a great personality.

in the same regard, look at WoW. Shes always been that fun loving girl who ,although her looks werent great, knew how to have a fun time. But soon shes getting a makeover, and everyones gonna want a piece of her.

Also WoW's art style is consistant, bad, but consistant.

Yes, WoW's art assets are consistent, and yes, they are ten years old
now and an order of magnitude lower in poly count - but that's the
secret to its success.

WoW runs well on hand-me-down hardware, so Joe Sixpack doesn't have
to work a week of overtime to upgrade little Bobby Sixpack's computer
with a $300 video card to play the $50 game he has to pay $15 a month
for. And the game runs amazingly well on 6 million Asian P4 machines
with AGP video.

And, from an art perspective, WoW still looks good - the use of color
pallet to set of each race from the others is something other MMOs
still haven't figured out... Even the cartoony look of the game is a
key to it's success; the game doesn't take itself too seriously (A
giant razor blade on a stick!?
(http://www.wowhead.com/item=15272/razor-axe), and the players
driving the character models around don't end up lost in Uncanny
Valley.

But, for me it's not about how many sliders the character creator has
for the model's nose or the 16.7 million colors we can choose for the
skin tone, when everyone looks exactly the same in the 5 sets of
armor the game offers... Players seek individuality in these games,
and even though WoW only offers 5 variations on the theme for a base
character, once you're in game you really can't help but look
different from every other class "X" unless you're a Druid or chasing
tier gear.

But, that's just my opinion - I play Eve. :)

1980 graphics? where you around for 1980 graphics cause they sure as well didn't look like global agenda. I'm not saying GA has the best graphics but what a gross exaggeration and comparison you just made to make a point.

well said.

just... lol.