I'd rather programmers spend their time building cool games than fast
games. Not everything has to be
ultra-realistic-shiny-3D-lens-flair-ultra-optimized-60fps crap.
Do you assume that non-realistic games don't need to have fast code?
It's not a correct assumption. It depends on the game and ultra-realistic games are not the only
ones who are better with fast code or 60fps.
Basically, nothing can be generalized with games. Which is why more opportunities to optimize are always welcome.
I suspect it's true for all kind of software in the end (even web services, in particular massive web services).