The new MMORPGs yet to be released, I'd like to know what they look like before I buy them. This is a message to MMORPG companies that think they know what their potential consumers want. We don't want the most polished piece of turd to come out of your graphics department, mocked up, plastered and passed off as a "Screenshot", that is not a screenshot and you know it. We the potential consumer want a REAL screenshot we want a GRITTY screenshot.

Fake: Polished mocked up turd shot from the graphics department.

Real: An actual in-game gameplay screenshot.

Gritty: Ugly icons, backpacks, cursors, avatars, the real game.

If you do not provide the potential consumer with a real gritty screenshot, you will fail, good day to you, if you do not wish to provide real gritty screenshots your services will no longer be needed, if I wanted to look at a medieval painting I'd go to the louvre.

So real is real and grity is real.  So what's the difference? 

How about just fake or real?

Yeah  I don't get the difference between Real and Gritty.

...What?

maybe he means gritty as in the actually interface and stuff and real as in combat or dungeon pictures?

I take it Real means a screenshot with UI hidden and Gritty is UI showing?

If that's the case, I prefer seeing the UI, so I can have some idea of what the game will really "look" like on my damn screen.

interesting complaint...  but you are wrong I'm afraid. 

First off I dont believe that the screenshots are nearly as misleading as you seem to feel they are...  Maybe you want to see screenies taken at minimum settings?  I maintain a rig that is able to Max out 99% of new titles... that said I feel that the screenshots I've seen on MMO's in development the past few years have been an accurate representation of what I saw when I installed the client.  The one exception is perhaps AoC....  it looked great, but I dont know that it ever looked like the PCGamer preview article...   I'd have to go back and compare side by side.  

If they did release "gritty" screenshots the majority of potential subscribers would probably take one look and walk away.  Just because YOU are realistic about your expectations for early development screenies doesnt mean the majority of consumers is the same way...  Maybe you should complain at auto manufacturers for showing their cars in commercials with window tint that is illegal in over 40 states............

In conclusion....  I suspect that you are running at reduced settings.  Regardless of whether or not that is the case I disagree with your opinion.

When I worked at RR, I posted a screenshot that was superdark... because it took place in a lavacave that was dark.  I didn't pull it into photoshop and lighten it up, or doctor it.
Users complained.

Then I posted a screenshot which apparently contained "inconsistancies with quality"... which was between the first and second levels of LoD.  We posted the actual shot instead of smoothing it out in Photoshop.
Users complained.

Companies doctor their screenshots a little to hope to quell the (minor) user complaints.  The most vocal ones on the boards are the first to jump ship when the game "does not meet expectations" in any one arena...

However, many companies go overboard when it comes to this... it causes problems for companies that don't go overboard, but don't post the prettiest of screenshots.

Not every screen or picture from a game is the prettiest thing you've ever seen... but many gamers will expect that regardless.