In the picture, all three of the swatches were knitted on the same day, with the same yarn which was a worsted weight acrylic (incidentally it was the first yarn I ever bought). I used a 6mm needle for all of them because that is the size I have the most variety in.
The top swatch was knitted first with my bamboo set which I find very grabby and tight, good for very soft yarns, which this is most definitely not. The swatch measures 5.5x6.5 and has 4 stitches per inch.
The middle swatch was done with my aluminum needles, which I usually use with acrylic because they slide so much better. It measures 5.5x6.75 - so the rows are the same but it is a quarter inch wider with a gauge of 3.5 stitches per inch.
The bottom one was done last with my KnitPicks wooden needles. These are my absolute favorite and were a gift from my sister because she knows knitting contributes to my sanity (although there is never a guarantee with these things). :) I find I can use these compressed, laminated birch needles with just about any yarn and they are simply delightful with my fancier sock yarns I am currently obsessed with. This swatch meaures 5.5x7, so again, the same row height, but a full half inch wider than the bamboo, with a gauge of only 3 stitches per inch.
This may seem like an insignificant difference, and it often is when you are making things in which gauge doesn't matter as much, such as blankets and scarves. It does alter the look though, with the bamboo creating a tighter fabric and the wood being more "airy". That being said, if you are doing anything that requires a specific gauge, you have to be a lot more careful. This is why gauge swatches are VITAL for doing any project that requires fit such as clothing.
Think of it this way...You are knitting a pattern that calls for 100 cast on stitches for a 20-inch wide panel, based on 5 stitches per inch. But you knit 5.5 stitches per inch, which means your finished piece would be only 18 inches wide. If you are doing a front and back panel to seam together, that is a difference of 4 inches and your gorgeous sweater is too small.
Something else to keep in mind is that the pattern is really just a guide. They are written by people and people are different. The person who wrote the pattern might have been a tight knitter knitting on bamboo, and you might be a loose knitter who prefers wooden needles. Or you are substituting one brand of yarn for another, and like clothing sizes, weight grading doesn't always mean exactly the same thing between yarn makers. For example, some "sock weights" are rated at 7 stitches per inch, others are 8 - a full stitch difference can make a huge difference in sizing. You may also find that you knit differently with alpaca vs. wool vs. blend. It's all about making that swatch first and going from there.
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