How Much DO Graphics Really Matter?

[El Chupacabra]

I've been having a debate with my friend about this one, so I thought I'd pitch it to you guys for your consideration:
How much do graphics really matter to your gaming experience? I like gameplay overall, but it never hurts to look pretty as well. My friend says graphics are the single most important part of a game.  
Please at least cast your vote, and feel free to post about your decision.

[Mac]

I'd say they're fairly important. Without graphics, I wouldn't play SWBF. For 2004, the graphics are okay. I personally like my graphics on medium so SWBF can run well. As for CoD2 and other games, the graphics are very pixilated so it's annoying to play it.

[Dresh]

That is a really good question! I went for fairly, depends on the game!  Is LOD and View Dist considered graphics in this case...cos they are real important..well LOD is!  Also the display settings like bright and contrast can help pick out an otherwise well hidden player easier.  As always gameplay is the important thing, but graphics do matter too!  I dont know how else to explain...A crap game with great graphics is still a crap game! A great game with crap graphics is not necessarily a great game its more of a great idea not supported well enough visually!  

In summation...graphics and performance need to be in harmony for a game to be good in my eyes...either way to the extreme the game suffers! Luckily most games allow you tweak such setting to find the right balance! If you cant find that balance then the game is not good (or you need a new graphics card)!

[zorba1994]

I see as gameplay being the most important, but graphics can't be discarded, as is shown here:


Great Graphics, Bad Gameplay: Game Sucks

Great Gameplay, Bad Graphics: Assuming the graphics aren't so bad that you can't see well, it can still be a good game.

[MacGenius]

For me I consider graphics a necessity. If a game has bad or sometimes, horrid graphics it is not as much fun for me. However game play is slightly more important, so that's how I voted.

[Radical_Pi]

I only need playable graphics. I admit that fancy shadows and complete pixel shading for every dark corner of the game is nice, but every coder put towards graphics is one less towards gameplay, which is what makes people want to keep playing the game

My opinion: Graphics=Get you to buy the game
Gameplay=hold you on the game

Graphics get outdated. I have an old game that had excellent graphics for it's time, but now it looks like junk, but I still play it because it has a fun gameplay

As zorba said:

Great Graphics, Bad Gameplay: Game Sucks

Great Gameplay, Bad Graphics: Assuming the graphics aren't so bad that you can't see well, it can still be a good game.