Is online gaming really that important to the masses?

[kn]

I know the hardcore gamer demands -- EXPECTS -- an exceptional online experience or they will simply thumb their noses at the game.  In recent memory, I can't think of many games outside of Bioshock that were exceptional shooters without at least a last-minute online mode tacked on.

I know that Nintendo takes a lot of heat for lack of a comprehensive online selection but is it really that important to the "average" or casual gamer?

I think too much time and energy is being spent on creating exceptional online experiences and more time should be spent on lengthening campaigns, fleshing out the story details in various ways, environments, etc.

I posted in another forum how COD4 is such an exceptional game but at the same time I am sorely dissapointed because the campaign was just 4 hours.  If the game had been 10-12 hours long, I would have been thrilled.  4 hours is just ridiculous.  The same goes for Halo X.  Gameplay is good -- not exceptional.  Graphics -- Good.  Online by most accounts is exceptional.  The storytelling and campaign in Halo 3 seemed to really take a backseat to the online play.

With that said, kudos to game designers that focus on the story and the campaign.  Even bigger kudos to those that reach out and do local co-op since that is how I really want to play "multiplayer".  Sadly, the days of local co-op seems to be going away as more and more people get high speed. 

Lastly, I believe the games that rely so heavily on the inclusion of online should be priced accordingly.  They should sell two games or sell the "campaign only" version for 1/2 the price or something along those lines and let people pay for the online component.  I for one would gladly pay 35-40 for top shelf games and have the online component completely left out.