People love to quote this, but that's not quite right.
For example, the reason Windwaker STILL looks gorgeous, is mainly because of the art.
Knack, Dead Rising 3, Second Son, etc all had technically good graphics.
But it's hard to deny that any of them showed an ounce of the personality and "warmth" that MK, X, and f***, even Donkey Kong showed.
Games like Killzone, FIFA, COD, etc you basically play until the next iteration comes long a year or more later. If you ever decide to go back to them, even within the same generation, they'll look outdated.
I doubt that anyone going back to Mario Kart towards the end of this gen will say it looks outdated. 'I've seen better", sure. But not outdated. Because they have more than polygons, they have character.
Studios like Quantic Dream keep saying polygons = emotions... but none of their games I have played so far was as uplifiting as a grin on Link's face in Windwaker, or the dancing flowers in NSMB. It's that kind of detail that makes a game timeless.
It's why people are STILL talking about Mario's cap coming off his head when you jump in Super Mario World
Art is subjective? Mostly, yes. But there's no denying some stuff is just great.
Why do you think artists like Van Gogh are still more famous, and their paintings more valuable than many of the most famous "photorealistic" painters of old.
Photorealistic is can be IMPRESSIVE, but it hardly ever is BEAUTIFUL.
Killzone looked impressive... but it's just people shooting, stuff exploding, ruined concrete environments with shiny windows, and the same old jungles.