"When Poser couldn't come within a country mile of realism, people probably concentrated on other aspects of their art. Now many seem hot to cross the Uncanny Valley. The Little Mermaid doesn't look real though, neither did Bambi or Shrek or the Monsters Unc. crew. We won't even get into Picasso's women. If your artistic ambition goes beyond having people say; "Gee, that looks like a photo," there are other aspects of making a character that really engages people."

Apples and Oranges.

Hyper/Photorealism isn't just by far the hardest "craft" in CGI to master, it's also long been accepted as an artform by itself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperrealism_%28visual_arts%29

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorealism

 

So, how much something engages people has nothing to do with how realistic or non-realistic it is.

Anyway, a well made Poser figure can be as realistic or as non-realistic as the user prefers.

The problem is, non-realism is easy, but to achieve realism the figure has to be constructed in a certain way, which most Poser figures aren't.

And even if the figure is capeable of realism, most users aren't.

So you have to give them exact presets they can use and build upon. Like dialing "The Girl" or "Aiko" for toon/manga styles, they need various realistic characters that let them achieve true realism with a single dial spin.

As I said, a modern Poser figure can be anything you want, provided the mesh topology is properly constructed.

But you can't just throw out a semi toon/ semi realistic vaguely humanoid shaped lump of polygons, call it a "blank canvas" and expect your average hobbyist user to turn it into something extraordinary.