@JenX : If you want to see it that way. My point is what's best for the average Poser user:
A "down to earth" realism that is fast and fun (like in games), or that kind of "technogeek cutting edge brainwanking" that folks here seem to prefer ?

@MikeJ:
"...shape has little to do with it."

Sorry. 100% wrong.
If you want to create an accurate model of something, either virtual or physical, correct reference is a must.
Because if the shape is wrong, everything else is, too.

Apollo failed because he tried to rely solely on displacement maps for body detail.
I also want my meshes to look great in preview, too, because that's how I look at them 99% of the time.
HANA for example has 45.000 polys.
High res body + lo res head = enough polys for the body detail but still lighter than your average DAZ mesh.
The only time I'd use displacement maps were if I needed accurate veins or for a real old face with lots of folds.

Polygons are cheap these days, textures and other stuff costs ram.
(Like V4's crazy magnet rig for example)

Look at those cars in the game renders I posted.
They are laser scanned to get the shape perfectly right and have more "built in" detail than many Poser cars.