Don't listen to these other assholes. Your ideas make sense, but won't necessarily happen. They could, but it's not 100%.
Now, your point on multiplayer. I would love for Nintendo to come up with something as awesome as Steam, PSN, and Xfire because that would be sweet. However, if that meant taking out 4 player local multiplayer, then I don't want that. There's nothing more that I hate than buying a new game or having a friend buy a game and we hang out to play co-op and it's only co-op online. Even with all the power of the HD systems...tsk tsk.
Better online play but make 4P local a sacrificial lamb? Fuck no.