When tekken 3 launched we had both, when Soul calibur DC launched we had both, When DOA 2 DC launched we had both, when Tekken Tag launched we had both, when Tekken 5 launched we had both. What's wrong with having both great graphics and great gameplay, one does not diminish the other and the two would surely be better together every single time.[/url]
All games released during an era where arcade titles were still graphical powerhouses in comparison to the consoles. Today that doesn't apply.
Let's open our eyes, developers can't make games just for hardcores anymore, if there is a mediocre looking fighter that plays great and a great looking fighter that plays great which one do you think will be more appealing or attract the bigger casual fanbase? Granted that the ease of entry/accessibility is similar between them.
Fighting games don't have an attractive selling point in anything other than name now. People will buy Street Fighter because it's Street Fighter. People will buy Mortal Kombat because it's Mortal Kombat.
One reason I never mention Guilty Gear is that I don't think that game looks great, when I saw the first trailer it looked very nice but having played the demo the image is not appealing to me. There's just something about the image that looks smeared and fuzzy to me. I think skull girls has an image I can appreciate more, I wouldn't say any of these anime games are pushing the envelope for graphics technology in fighters, but some do look better than others. Blaze Blue, Persona and Skull girls all display a style/image I prefer.
It's one thing to not like Guilty Gear's art style in Xrd, but what it's doing with its technology is wholly original and unique to the genre in regards to its visuals, and that alone should be the respect that the series deserves. Guilty Gear does pushes the envelope for fighting game visual aesthetics, and these 3D fighters haven't broken through in visual appeal since the original Virtua Fighter 5 release.