Graphics, scenery, etc are nice. I'd prefer to have those things than not have them.
Each of our own personal preferences is one data point.
Obviously you have a selection bias situation.
If you go to the World Soccer Cup and ask the fans, "Hey, you guys think Soccer or American Football is better?" What answer do you think you are going to get? Now go the the Super Bowl. Same answers?
Another way to discuss it, is to put our individual preferences aside and look a the behavior of the over all market. Instead of "Do you like soccer or football?" the question becomes, "What percentage of American's primarily watch Soccer vs American Football?"
I understand graphics are not a deciding factor for you.
I can certainly see that players who have been playing a game for decades, would not be sensitive to the gap in graphics widening over time between their sim, and the graphics of the competition. The boiling of the frog analogy might not be factually true, but it is "truthy".
However, I am convinced that graphics play a large role in attracting new players. ESPECIALLY with a subscription model with no real FTP path.
Think of it like the Curb Appeal when selling a house. The sale is half made\lost by the first impression pulling up. Before the potential buyers even walk in.
If it looks like it has been pimped out by Martha Stewart and the Bob Villa, they are almost like, "shut-up and take my money!" If you pull up and it looks like a weedy Norman Bates house where the previous owner probably kept body parts in the garage, I'm not going to be receptive to the agent telling me about the new AC system recently installed and that overall, the house has really good "bones". Yeah, probably buried out back. Time is money, I might just say roll on to the next property, this dog ain't gonna hunt.
So imagine yourself as a brand new potential customer. Never played AW, never played FA, never played WB, not a returning player. Their first sim was IL2 BOS and now they are looking at other sims and came across AH screenshots and videos. And see it is $15 every month. No real FTP portion.
I think the graphics and the subscription are a One-Two punch.
So I can see graphics not being enough to make a committed player leave, while still making attracting any new players (non-returning) really hard compared to the competition.
I'd be genuinely interested how many current players started out in IL2 BoX but decided to switch to AH and pay a subscription. Anyone know someone like that? I'm sure there are a couple but...
So as far as growth, I think great graphics are vital.