When I downloaded the Havok wheels web demo, it blew me away. I'd like to see them add a feature where we can put our own particle system into reality. That would give greater flexibility. In the Diablo FMV from Blizzard, the table is knocked over and everything falls as it should. This should happen in the game as well depending on how hard you hit the table or at what angle.
Ultra realism is now possible.
You don't have to leave stuff out anymore, with a fast pipeline, you get to add more texture and make the shot look great. Cinematics set the tone, its almost like playing the level to see the cool FMV at the end as you progress. The advent of physics will put an equal load on both the designers and programmers to come up with better and more realistic games. Its availability will drive us to try new things. It won't be good enough to not use objects as a player wants to.