What is the big deal with Online play?

[rocketpig]

MrPennybags said:

Online multiplayer matters some, but pretty much only for traditional PC genres (FPS, MMORPG and RTS) that are annoying or impossible to play multiplayer without online.  Online gaming can be fun with other genres (Sports, fighting) but aren't necessary and may not be worthwhile when considering the issues (lag, annoying online communities, inconsistent matchmaking, etc.)  Why not just play with friends live when you can?

 And Consoles have tried to incorporate online gaming since at least the Genesis/SNES (remember x-band?)  The closest thing to success has been with the x-box and x-box 360 which have made online gaming the cornerstone of their brand.  The x-box was so successful it sold 25 million consoles and lost billions of dollars.  The 360 is so successful its stalled at 10 million sold and has yet to turn a profit.  There's little evidence that online gaming is the future of console gaming.  On PCs, online gaming has been HUGE for over a decade (starcraft, counterstrike, etc) but are STILL fairly niche on consoles (outside of halo and other FPS on x-box, are there any other big online console games?)

That's not to say that online gaming won't have its place, just that its not as important as some people seam to think it is.

Microsoft ate losses for years because they knew they would. They're in this for the long run, as is Sony. Online gaming is the future; not every game needs it but Nintendo needs to offer it at some point.

Talking about x-band and that type of bullshit is a waste of time. What we're talking about is broadband gaming and a network of gamers that love a system. You're talking about a network that was offered before broadband even hit 5% of the population. In case you hadn't noticed, things are different now.

My point is that if Nintendo doesn't offer online gaming choices, they'll distance themselves from the hardcore gamers. That may not hurt them in the short run, but it will definitely hurt them in the long run. And those hardcore gamers are the ones that buy 20 games per console and play up hype for anything that's in the horizon.