I'm a professional rendering artist in the industry and here's a couple of my thoughts:
The general public, even most hardcore PC gamers don't really know what they're talking about because they're basing their opinion on current game renderings, current AA tech, current realtime shaders, and current effects. 720p PS3 games look more realistic than the PS2 HD 1080p remastered games and can do things the PS2 games can't in terms of enemies on screen etc.
What ultimately is going to happen is it's going to depend on the game, the director, and the artists - just like it always has. You'll get games like Shadow of the Colossus that opt for a new level of realism and accurate physics at the expense of resolution and framerate. And You'll get games like God of War with higher frame rates and resolution, but simpler rendering.
The general public, even most hardcore PC gamers don't really know what they're talking about because they're basing their opinion on current game renderings, current AA tech, current realtime shaders, and current effects. 720p PS3 games look more realistic than the PS2 HD 1080p remastered games and can do things the PS2 games can't in terms of enemies on screen etc.
What ultimately is going to happen is it's going to depend on the game, the director, and the artists - just like it always has. You'll get games like Shadow of the Colossus that opt for a new level of realism and accurate physics at the expense of resolution and framerate. And You'll get games like God of War with higher frame rates and resolution, but simpler rendering.