They can suck you into the experience. But if they're the best part of the game... it probably isn't going to be that great of a game.

Graphics are starting to matter again. Interesting.

Story, characters and music matters to me the most.

There's this thing called "nice to have - need to have". Immersive gameplay is a need to have, graphics are not. It's as easy as that.
And don't get me wrong, graphics are nice to look at, but I'd rather have attention to detail in the design, than having just raw graphical prowess :)

Nope.... They should not be at the cost of depth in gameplay..... Which has been the case for the better part of last and current gen.... Nier Automata is my personal GOTY in spite of some other great looking games out there simply because it remains unparalleled in terms of narrative depth by a huge margin over the others...... Oh and the gameplay is awesome, not something on the very technical side of hack n slash, but better than most games I have played this year

From the very first videogame, graphics have ALWAYS mattered.

No, it's not QUITE as important as gameplay, but you'd have to be blind not to see how graphics engage, attract, enhance and immerse any player in whatever game they play, especially with the more story driven titles of our times.

Frame rate matters. 60 FPS can finally be an expectation in some new games.

The true final frontier is animation and refinement. There is no better example than Mass Effect Andromeda. A factually beautiful game (from an environmental standpoint) completely derailed by terrible animation and constant immersion breaking glitches.

Why was an article needed? That thumbnail picture says all that is required.

Is that why Indy games are more popular than they ever have been? Good art direction holds up much longer than raw graphical power.

Great gameplay can survive without great graphics. Great graphics cannot survive without good gameplay.
Graphics matter these days, but gameplay will always matter more.

Nier Automata looks like crap for the most part, yet it's easily one of the best releases this year.

I funshed playing nier:automata and currently playing persona5 and I'll say having unique art direction IMO is way batter than having super detailed faces
Im sick of all the "photorealistic graphics" bullsh!t. Who the F*ck said that a game like COD IW looks betger than persona5, overwatch,rachet&clank etc?
PLEASE make your game stand out instead of wasting time money and manpower on those boring stuff....BTW, who said that reality look better than video games??video games are way more colorful and beautiful so stop copying reality

They do but it isn't the most important part of a game to me. People are not praising Persona 5 for it's mind blowing visuals for example.

The base PS4 is capable of some mind blowing visuals like Uncharted 4 and Horizon Zero Dawn. But those games are not good due to visuals alone. There are many other factors that make them great games to play.

Smooth framerate and anti aliasing, yes. But music and gameplay is more important to me.

Graphics matter, that being said its a very very distant second to gameplay. I will take a last gen looking game with fanatstic gameplay over a 200FPS 20K photo realistic game with avg to good gameplay any day and that is the honest truth. It doesnt matter how fantastic a game looks, if it cant capture me with its gameplay, its usless to me.

It's a generation difference, many older gamers can settle for lesser graphics for stellar gameplay and enjoy what's in front of them.

Younger gamers want graphics on ultra 8K settings, super mega HDR with basic gameplay if they had their way because they enjoy it that way.

back when gfx was crap, they had to make up for it with good game play, as this is what made you come back day after day and replay the game such as FF1 to FF6 or Amiga games such as Banshee or spectrum games such chuck egg or jet set willy or classic wire frame Elite game (oops I'm showing my age LOL). my point is there needs to be a balance between GFX and game play. i hate FPS games and fallen out with them because game time is so short more so with the story mode, sky rim £45 new, time minus cost/hr played that what matters to me.

Graphics always matter. It is a stupid statement to say the opposite. But gameplay is more important. Will always be first gameplay (games) then graphics. Only pc gamers think differently.

Graphics have always mattered. It's just some people not interested as much or that cant keep up with the hardware race anymore that try to downplay it's importance.

Graphics matter in every new generation!

That's why we have updates to hardwares!

apart form that yes gameplay matters too :P

Graphic does not matter all time time. There are other factors that make a game great. You cant have great graphics but shitty gameplay, worthless AI, boring story, and bugs.

It's because no matter how sh*tty or broken your game is, the sheep will flock to it if it looks spectacular in videos shown. AND the sad truth is that PC gamers are a huge part to blame, they're a plague that can't stop bragging about their specs and performance.

Graphics were always important. They're just less important than everything else in a game. Nothing breaks immersion like weak mechanics and bad gameplay.

Persona 5 , zelda
'Nuff said

The problem is the obsession with resolution. Higher resolution does not automatically equal better graphics, it just means sharper images
Better graphics means more detail, better shadows, lighting textures AA. I kind of wish we'd use out horsepower to make the best visuals we possibly could at 1080p instead of using it to push 4K then 8k visuals and have to sacrifice in other areas to keep up

Graphic matter. Look at ps4 launch they said over and over "we have to most powerful box" all 3rd parties played better and they crushed Nintendo and m$. The number one selling title this gen is a 3rd party multiplatform game. You had people in n4g counting pixels and posting the number difference between 900p and 1080p to SHOW a big difference because it was difficult to see on screen. So yes graphic matter

So if you have all the games of today but in the graphic style of the Atari 2600 would the games still be as fun? I don't think so..

Not to me they don't. I'll take performance and gameplay of graphical fidelity any day.

graphics matter they have always matterd ppl are just stupid gamers care about graphics they never stop caring ppl act like you have to choose one over the other we can have both good graphics can make a game better and more immersive could witcher 3 been good with ps1 graphics maybe but is it better with its current graphics yes 1000 times yes could red dead redemption 2 still be good with ps1 graphics maybe but will it be better with cutting edge tec and graphics 1000 times yes good game, good game play, good graphics it adds to the game experience making it better a bad game with good looks is still bad a good game with good looks is even better ppl lie to themselves for some reason saying graphics dont matter thats a absolute lie and will always be one

Nice click bait...

Graphics are the "hook" they get your attention therefore it's the most important. The gameplay is the "line" they immerse you in the beauty. The story is the "sinker" they get you emotionally involved. A game with the total package known as a triple A title is the number one reason we game. So yes graphics are paramount to the success of any game it is the foundation for which everything else is built around.

Granted plenty of games have great story or gameplay and mediocre or horrid graphics but these are not the games we salivate for. These are the games that hold us over until the real meat and potatoes arrive.

Graphics matter, as well as gameplay, story, control, interactivity, etc. Many things make a great game... and it is up to the gamers to decide in their minds when a lack of one area is detrimental to their enjoying a game they are playing.

When a game can hit the high standards in all areas is when we know that developers are trying. When I hear developers say that graphics, story or some other factor does not matter then that developer is selling you short on an experience.

Demand more... don't settle for less. Don't automatically shelve a game because it lacks in one area but don't act as if that area means nothing at all either.

Be realistic... today just as tomorrow and yesterday graphics matter. Point is are they living up to the generations level of graphics or are they simply getting by with not trying to push the game to make it the best it can be?

I see Indie games today givng us that 8 bit look... but even most of them are still pushing HD graphics. Just don't listen to anyone that ever says graphics don't matter... they are lying to you if they do.

Because gamers are shallow and need an easy, visible way to score points in their stupid platform wars.

I like beautiful graphics but gameplay always have to take priority.

Tell that to the millions of people who play Minecraft and then tell that to all those that will play the upcoming Strafe on PC and PS4.
https://youtu.be/jwWSMNwBzp...

its stopped to matters when the ps4 came out somehow.

Clicked for the thumbnail knockers.. got a duck instead..

of course they matter. however, it depends what kind of game it is and what they're going for. having a game run smoothly is also important. if a good looks clean and runs well, then not having the best technical graphics doesn't matter as much. art style can be much more important than just photo realistic stuff.

Graphics matter if realism is the focus. *Cough MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA Cough*

Art Direction Matters more. Example: Persona 5, Zelda, Gravity Rush 2

Let me guess, Graphics matter now because scorpio is coming out and xboxboy fangirls are shouting from the hilltops 6tflops.

Upscaled just like PS4pro. HAHAHAHA

Oh my god did you actually change the thumbnail from a bikini chick to a duck? You know, I never say this seriously, but:

stop being a cuck

Only because too many devs under deliver on a consistent basis. The PR guys up them to excess?

Everything in games matter. If they all mix nicely, then you get a fantastic product in the end. If it only has a few things while lacking something in the other department, it can still be a good game, even a great game. Its all about what works and what doesn't.

I personally am thinking of ditching MS and Sony and picking up a Switch.

Games are so boring these days.

You spend months leveling a character up just to be on equal footing with everyone else, or you grind for months to get flowers to pass a boss, or you run around shooting the same old shit killing the same old enemies.

The only problem with the switch is it only has one great game. But at least it's fun. Mario kart will be fun considering i never played it on the wii, and quite frankly i want a machine where i can jump on for an hour of immense fun and jump off again.

Fuck months of grinding and fuck microtransactions.

Arcade fun is where it's at again.

Well it does to me that's why I own a PS4 Pro & that's part of the reason why I play & own most of Sony's first party titles.

I like graphics. I was hoping for this moment ever since I turned on my first game console.The Atari 2600. I'm not going back to that sh!t ever again.

Xbox community Xbox one: Graphics doesn't matter, gameplay is all, keep playing your resolution while we play games.

Xbox community Xbox Scorpio: graphics matters, exclusives doesn't matters.

Opinions will always change just to justify and defend your product of choice.

Graphics+Great Gameplay mechanics matter.....

The Order was an example of an incredible looking game that didnt live up to its graphics gameplay wise.
Horizon Zero Dawn is an example of an incredible looking game with great gameplay, as is Uncharted 4.

Great graphics equal immersion, if your going for an epic RPG, you want those great graphics, because they make the world more real to you. Without great gameplay mechanics though, its just a tech demo, beautiful but hollow.

I am a graphics whore but great graphics arent the be all end all. If your game isnt even an immersive type of game, graphics may not even matter. Minecraft wasnt beautiful but its made a ton of money, immersive for its building but your not going to believe your living in a real world. Witcher 3 wouldnt have done that well with crappy graphics, either would Skyrim, or Fallout 4.

graphics are important but F*ck i feel like playing PS2 games and shit more then the games nowadays they just aren't that appealing anymore. So yea it isn't a valid argument.

Meh. I prefer a world that has a sense of life in it than just trying to look real. AKA Zelda: Breath of the WIld.
Where everything has a sense of life monsters, humans, animals and town. Even the weather, temperature and climate changes and effects gameplay.

Just make a game look photo realistic is so boring and lazy.

You can have your cake and eat it too just choose your Games wisely I love cutting edge anything pens ,cars ,watches
I love a game that pushes hardware threw ingenuity the best mind producing the best game engines on any platform or medium .It exciting to know that you're playing top tier quality gameplay and visuals it brings me back to when I played Knights on the Sega dreamcast . after Aceing the game I would spend hours running away from the clock just to be in the game world on foot off rail .Or Street fighter third strike killer art, killer gameplay ,killer soundtrack or jet grind radio how about killer instincts ..... When Nintendo was boss of visuals and gameplay droping visual and gameplay bombs I remember playing donkey Kong country as we all know and was looking at the cartridge like how is this possible. goldeneye or even super Metroid on the super NES oohhh My Mario 64 , F Zero The list goes on and on I'm forgetting so many more games with huge impact on gameplay and visuals.we've all put in a game and found ourself siting in awe of its beauty watching The sunsetting or trains going past or follow A drunk MPC or just listen to people talk in the streets random things happening .One of the first things I do when in open world game is just walk off the beaten path checking out the environment traveling as far as I can until I have to do a mission .they sell all types of controllers because gameplay is important they sell TVs updated every year because visuals are important and Head sets because sounds important we all have different kings and queens to our game experience .the truth is they all matter which more than the other simply depends on the person playing For me it's usually gameplay ,graphic ,sound and then another game it'll be graphics, gameplay ,sound or sound ,gameplay ..but the unsung hero of it all is the story
I just have to mention two other game beside for blaster master 😏
(Garden heroes, gun star heroes)imo. mic drop

Gameplay
Control
Story (as needed)
Sound (as needed)
Then
Graphics

Obviously graphics matter. Is it the defining aspect of games? No but to say they dont matter is silly and i suspect the majority who feel this way are nintendo fanboys and thats from someone who owns a switch.

They do, but depends on what you mean with "graphics". Doesn't have to be realistic for me, can be pixelated 8bit for all I care. But if it's stylized really neat it gives me the feeling of playing a serious game and not some fan fiction.