Raising and lowering levels of sound between the two sides? That makes it sound like a simple crossfeed, and binaural is so much more than that. Note my mention of Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) whenever talking about binaural mixes. It's the HRTF simulation that makes it binaural and not just a dumb crossfeed.
And those recordings are too realistic for video games? I never thought I'd hear about anyone complaining about that sort of thing before. If anything, proper binaural audio in games really adds to the immersion for me, like I'm really there. It's also a very handy competitive advantage. (How many times have I used the phrase "aural wallhack" on here? I lost count...)
Oh, and speaking of CRTs, I still find it funny how this decade-old Sony GDM-FW900 sitting in front of me still wipes the floor with every single display made after it for gaming. Of course, that's a professional aperture-grille CRT monitor capable of handling 2304x1440 at 80 Hz and lower resolutions up to 160 Hz, being Sony's top-of-the-line monitor for a cool $2,500 back then, not the cheap shadow mask SDTVs everyone thinks of.
Still, it's a damn shame that CRTs still haven't been surpassed as gaming monitors, with their combination of no input lag, high refresh rates (for smoother motion), perfect viewing angles (something even the best LCD types aren't capable of, especially in the blacks), deep blacks, and total lack of native resolutions, which is nice for those of us who still like to play old games that don't go as high resolution-wise. Some technologies might do a few things better, but suffer greatly in other areas.
Correct, the Smyth Realiser is simulating a 5.1/7.1 theater system in the end. It just happens to be really good at it because it allows you to profile it using in-ear microphones and whatever theater you can set it up in for a test recording, but it's still just 7.1 at the most. You also can't profile only HRTFs with it, just a PRIR (Personalized Room Impulse Response, as they call it) because it's also recording all the other qualities of the theater you're in, like the speakers and the room acoustics.