I know this is a nostalgia thread and those are great, …
… but I have to question the reasoning of the OP, when we have to compare products that are 30+ years apart to make a point.
Computer technology and the market have changed immensely over these past decades, so just comparing MRSPs is irrelevant. Not only are PCs and consoles omnipresent in todays world in comparison to the 1980s, they are also so much more advanced, that the top picture shows exactly the same as the bottom one: amazing graphics - for the time the product released to market.
“We have gotten so much more this time around.”
Yes, in absolute terms that is correct. But you could say the same about a DC-3 in comparison to an A320 or a 1964 Ford Mustang to a Tesla Model S. Hardly surprising at all. 
Yet we are still basically at the same status quo. Amazing graphics, inconsistent performance and unrealistic physics. I dare to say that, relative to their time, the sims are rather similar in what they offer.
Sorry for kiling the vibe. 
I realize when you live long enough, that advancing technology feels like magic, but in the great scheme of things, not much has changed at all.