The reason I bought Gears of War was because on the Co-op (offline). I hate it when games only have co-op if your online.

 Totally agree, I hope more and more games come with online co-op.

Might be casual vs hardcore. But it's hard to to tell because online is something that really change behaviors. Quite exactly like many ppl thinking achievments are a gadget, until they get hooked.

I won't say that online experience is always as fun as splitscreens, but now that you have an easy connexion, a cam (Uno), a mic (on pretty much any games), you can start to have a true felling between players. A true contact. And, it also allows more players so more possibilities.

Combined, I think these element can affect the "casual" players expectations (and Uno is really a good exemple of that).

Once again, it depends on players expectations. Right now, the number of console players that may have had a true online experience isen't that big. So you're right, that may not be a decisive argument this year and the next one.

But for the ppl playing online regulary, it is, and it will remains. Don't forget that many ppl end up with TWO consoles. And wether it's WII60 or PSWii, it will be the same, they'll get an online experience, and if the Wii lag behind in this field, I'm pretty sure it can become a real issue.

Already, you can say that for a same game, having or not an online mode do a real difference (see VT3, VF5 rumors). Online keep you busy in periods with fewer releases. Online make you use you console instead of letting it take the rust because you've finished the only decent solo game release this month. It give you the feeling the game has a better value (time vs money).

You can be sure that online will be important on this generation (while not this year or the next), and will be a basic requierement for the next one.

I agree that online does not restrain games from becoming comercially viable.  There are titles where this is a plus and there are titles where it really doesn't matter....

In titles where co-op, multiplayer, and head-to-head play are an integral part I feel online adds to the game experience.  I have to admit when I first heard about it I thought that online was going to be a fad and I avoided it completely.  Then, I got a 360 and signed up for the free Silver subscription and thought it was interesting tracking my achievements and such.  So, I thought let's give gold a try this year.  Next, thing, I found the following improvements were made in my gaming world:

I could challenge myself more because there are a lot of online players better than me or my friends.

I didn't have to schedule my gaming time as much because I can go to the console and play online games with people at any time whether it be 7 pm or 2 am.  Whenever I have the time, someone, somewhere is there.

I can play with my friends that no longer live in the same city.  With the wireless mic it also allows me to have a "semi-phone call" with them while we play and talk about our lives and how things are going.

So, it allows me to do something I didn't do before.  Just like when someone buys a $3000 - 50" Plasma HD TV and keeps their regular cable feed and VCR.  It is good, but, if go switch to HD TV and DVD HDMI, your experience is better. 

 In the end, it is an add on cost but there is value so some people like it and some don't.  The nice thing is that almost all games can be played either way, so there is choice.  I think the reviews that knock the lack of online are really just saying, "heh, there's no choice here.  the online with this game is not there or stinks."  I feel it is good for reviewers to state it as I like online play.

a quick question to all the seasoned players here that play online console games, how bad is the lag with broadband and everything? i've noticed most of the games brought up more or less FPS. where i'm more interested in fighers, ie tekken, ggxx, etc. i'm not sure wat is acceptable in terms of FPS online play, but for a figher, it pretty much needs to have no lag otherwise its not worth playin online, since we're talkin about frame rates here.

btw, yea i know the fighting genre is a niche market... but i would love to be able to play a fighter online rather than always having to go to the nearest arcade.

Ping times vary a lot but I really can't see what the big deal is, since FPS require very quick reaction times as well.

I like both. There is no reason a designer cannot make a game like Metroid Prime or Zelda with a phenominal 30+ hour single player campaign and then add a great online multi layer option. I am actually a little peeved that MP3 is not going to allow a Halo like online mode. Look at Goldeneye. It had a really good solo player setup and a great multiplayer setup. If there was online consoles at the time, I mean as a standard, then it would have rocked as well.

I say we as consumers shouldn't let them get off with only giving one option of play, but they should be forced to give us all options.

Online is cool, but only when it is built from the ground up. Check games like Starcraft, Warcraft, Counter-Strike, AoE. Those games are built to offer an amazing online experience, and in a lesser extent a decent single player.
Nintendo`s first online based game, Battalion Wars II, is coming soon, and I think that we should wait some days ( e3 ) to see how good the experience is.

 yeah, i'm sure single player's gonna be amazing.  but the reason i won't get metroid, along with things like mario galaxy, or zelda twillight princess, is because i get motion sickness within minutes of playing the game.  there is no way i'm gonna go through 20-40 hours of motion sickness if it's just for the gameplay or the single-player campaign.

but if there IS multiplayer online... then it becomes possible for me to hook up with a buddy to play multiplayer online.  if i lose horribly in head-to-head, at least i can get a laugh out of it.  it becomes competitive, and that's always make me focus better.  and if it's co-op, i'd feel it's having fun with friends.  like with a cousin of mine who lives thousands of miles away, who i would never otherwise get to hang out with.

yeah, you're right--i'm not the kind of player who would buy metroid to begin with.  but nintendo can increase their business if they have a reasonable online option.  doesn't even have to be great--just enough to entice me to getting it, and maybe play it once every other week with a friend.  i'm the type who get satiated rather easily.

another anecdote--a friend's parents divorced.  the dad and the son used to play video games as a "bonding" experience.  obviously, they don't anymore.  but you know, a simple online option for one of the most popular games goes a long way for those kind of people.

i don't understand nintendo's neglect of online aspects of games.  there must be something we don't know.

 You get motion sickness from playing regular videogames?  Well that sucks...but online games aren't going to look any different from offline games...