I don't disagree on that, Will, I see all that. I'm just saying that those are not as impressive to me as the jump in polygons has been in past gens. We're getting into nerdy territory now. Not that I'm against that sort of stuff, but I remember showing off the Xbox to people and they got it. I showed off the 360 and PS3 to people and they got it again. But PS4 (and I'd assume next Xbox), it's a lot more nerdy in terms of what has progressed. You have to point out the lighting and particles and textures. Not to say that more casual crowds won't see the fidelity you speak of, but I don't think it is as big a "wow" moment as past gens were.
I'd be interested to see how people would react to a true PS4 demo (not sure which videos were running 100% on PS4 last night, I know Watch Dogs was PC, but I'd guess Killzone was PS4?) followed by the best that PS3 can offer (perhaps an Uncharted 3 demo or The Last Of Us?). Maybe even lie and say both are PS4? I could see them picking out impressive elements from both, and who knows? Maybe some will prefer what they see on PS3 despite PS4 being a huge leap in areas like the ones you mentioned?
Again, I'm not arguing for or against, I'm just noting how the general public might see things and how graphics are getting to the point I mentioned.