Matthias Worch, designer and technical art director for Factor 5 (creators of Lair), seems to think that high resolution scanning of real 3D objects is the way to go for next-gen games. Artists really have two options when it comes to creating a 3D digital asset: create one digitally from scratch with a tool like Maya, or digitize one. The level of detail Factor 5 is getting from the latest scanners is just amazing. They can resolve details down to 100 microns in size - smaller than the point of a needle. The fact that it’s much easier to remove detail from a 3D model than it is to add detail, just adds to his arguments.

For more, check out the excellent article at Gamasutra.

Gamasutra - Taming The Dragon: Next-Generation Asset Creation for PS3