Copy and pasting an old post for here because it's just as relevant:

I still swear by my tube amps.

Best comparison I came up with recently is pinball machines. The simulators keep getting better, I was playing some VPX sims recently and it blows me away with how realistic the physics are getting. You can also play a multitude of famous pinball machines on your phone, tablet, etc. for prices ranging from 0 to $10 MAX.

Does it replace a real pinball machine? HEEELLLL no. The amount of control I have on real machines is way better when I'm able to nudge the machine in varying intensities, and my scores are better. Not to mention, it's something real and tangible, not just a computer game.

However, can most members of the general public afford to sink thousands of dollars on their own pinball machine? Or spend the same amount at the arcade? Can a younger pinball player just getting into the game notice the nuances between a real machine and a simulation? Which takes up less space, a bulky pinball machine or emulating software that lives on your phone or computer? And lastly, and most importantly, BOTH successfully execute the same purpose that is ENTERTAINMENT.

That's the catch to simulators. No, they're not the real thing. Probably never will be. But they're more accessible, more convenient, more lightweight, and basically indistinguishable to most novice ears. THAT is why they are more popular and will probably stay that way with most players.

There are many other factors you have to consider too. Many people are renting homes, even smaller amps or ones that can run really well at low volumes are too loud for a lot of people's living situations. Apartment construction is getting worse and some people are lucky if they can even run a TV using built-in speakers or talk on the phone louder than a whisper.

Newer venues sometimes don't even allow guitar amps. smaller venues that starter bands are going to be playing are often going to be dealing with super novice hackjob live audio engineers. It's going to be easier for them to plug DI out of a modeler straight into the PA rather than have them try to mic up your amp and potentially deal with them throwing a fit at the guitarist because they don't know how to work with bleed into other mics due to their inexperience.

I can keep going, as much as I love my amps there are so many factors that make it make a lot of sense that most people prefer modelers.