What was the first game you mistook for real life (i.e. actual people rather than polygons), even for just a moment?

[Elfgore]

There were some ads in Game Informer back in the day for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End that had absurdly realistic screenshots of Captain Jack and Davy Jones. Thought they were stills from the movie at first.

 

[Xater]

I don't think that ever happened to me.

 

[mrbogus]

I wouldn't say I mistook them, but some screenshots of Project Cars and maybe a couple other modern racers. As long as no human figures are in the shots they look very photo realistic.

Also screenshots of the latest Microsoft Flight Simulator.

 

[Aaron D.]

One of the recent 2K NBA titles.

I tuned into ESPN or one of the side versions (ESPN2, ect.) and they were running an AI vs AI game. Before some of the more mechanical-looking player animations kicked in (usually big-drive replays), it legit looked like the real thing.

 

[Magnus]

Had to be one of the more realistic car sims...maybe Gran Turismo 3?

 

[Kapryov]

First I can recall would be Gran Turismo.... 5 I think?
They had some replay footage playing on a screen in a game store around the time of release, I thought they were just playing actual live racing for a bit.

 

[tim1138]

NFL 2K on Dreamcast for sure

 

[Valkrai]

For me, it started with Tony Hawk's Project 8. The trailers looked realistic for the time and the animations were fluid.

 

[Doskoi Panda]

Modern Warfare (OG) - All Ghillied Up

This shit on a 360 blew my mind

 

[Meta]

I've yet to experience this with in-engine graphics, but a couple daylit shots in the intro for Armored Core 4 look real, even today.

 

[ymgve]

When I first played Observation I thought it was a partial FMV game. The intro looks pretty lifelike - helped a lot by the fact that you don't see the character's face so there's no uncanny valley:

 

[JamboGT]

Are you talking about that night drive with the Viper GTSR on Special Stage Route 5 that was part of that samecommercial? Because that's was my first experience too!

Click to shrink...

Yeah I think it was the same one!

 

[MP!]

some boxing game on a 360 kiosk at game crazy in 2005... thought they were watching a match

 

[RoninStrife]

Yeah I think it was the same one!

Click to shrink...

That blew my mind, seeing the reflections on the water on the track, the trail of water left behind as it sped by, the realistic way the headlights shone in the dark sections of the track vs it in the light in the tunnel. Man, I was convinced that was the closest to photorealism we go go back then lol.
Especially coming of the back of GT2.