I get you now, sorry for the misunderstanding
I can sort of see your point, but only as far as
new high-end hardware goes, and only for the no AA and no AF case.
For example, a 6800 Ultra can't play Splinter Cell in full SM3.0 mode with HDR at framerates I'd call very playable, at 1024x768. Far Cry's little better.
For something like Riddick, 1024x768 is playable but only with around 2x AA and 8x AF. 4x AA if you don't mind an average framerate under 60fps. And most people will want some AA at 1024x768, won't they?
And that's on a 6800 Ultra, remember. What if you own a card slower than that, as almost every bugger on the planet does? You drop 1024x768 with new games titles and nobody will read your reviews, since all you'll do is show people how bad their hardware is! Most sites review the mid-range and low-end SKUs, too.
~720p is still disgustingly relevant, even in the PC space, even with new hardware and new games, I'd argue.
And playing new games is what most people do, right?