Topic: Local Multiplayer VS Online Multiplayer

Hey folks, Im really interested to hear your thoughts about this. I understand that for the Nintendo-core-audience there was a long time of drought and you're thirsting for a competitive online offering, things people playing on an 360 or a PS3 have had for a while. Here's my point of view - from the opposite direction.

I grew up with Nintendo, wasn't that much of a fanboy some others of my friends have been but I spent most of my quality time in front of my SNES playing local multiplayer (or even better, COOP if available in certain games). As I grew up, attention shifted (after some serious WWF Wrestling-Sessions on N64 with 3 of my mates) slowly but surely to the PC. In the late 90ies until the mid 2000's there were plenty of options to enjoy "coop" or "hotseat" gameplay. I can still fondly remember the huge amounts of fun (and wasted time) when we had Lan-parties with early (and ridiculously overpriced) gaming laptops. Awesome games like Battlefield, Age of Empires and even "old" classics like Quake 3 Arena or Command and Conquer were meant to stay.

Time moved on and (while always having a Nintendo handheld, unfortunately mostly lacking people to play with) and I eventually ended up on a gamecube, enjoyed Wrestlinggames again but then switched to XBOX and later XBOX360. It was in Halo 2 where I first completely experienced what is called "xbox live" - complete with voice chat with total strangers. Also Burnout 3 Takedown was a blast to play while talking with your rivals/mates. Then it went on like we all more or less experienced it... focus shifted from local multiplayer experiences to have all folks sit in their living room, isolated, only connected through the headset and enjoying multiplayer that way. There was also a BIG shift towards competitive multiplayer instead of coop.

That said I am really excited about things like Miiverse, bringing people closer together in what is an active community and I am also excited about the possibiltiies with the gamepad. I don't wan't that gimicky stuff but I love the idea of asymmetric gameplay, local multiplayer fun. Something that's always a bit of a trademark of Nintendo until this day.

So while there are many many Nintendofans eagerly awaiting to full go online and experience the joy of online multiplayer I have to say I am "bored off" it already for quite a while. On all my available systems (3DS, soon Wii U, PC, XBOX360) I'm craving for that fun, coca cola and chips gaming session-feeling with a few mates I grew up with. Bring on the LOCAL MULTIPLAYER/COOP! Can't wait. Online is full of jerks and weirdos anyways!

Thoughts?

I think local multiplayer is a LOT more fun.

But it's not all that often I can get all my friends together, so online multiplayer is a nice option.

Well said Robb. I DO have the problem that I only have 2 friends that are into nintendo at all.
All others are either busy getting divorced/selling their house or PC elitists.

Plus, it can be fun to get together with friends online.

The local multiplayer thing is the only real reason I could recommend a Wii U to folks over the PS3 and Xbox 360. It's clearly superior for that experience.

Personally I like both, but local is interacting with friends, but online let's me interact with new people and possibly introducing me to some kawaii women

what ya talking about?
the DS had online games and the wii's first online games came at the beginning of 2007 i think.
it just didnt have that much features like xbox360 or ps3.

local multiplayer is awesome but you need people to play with and i dont know anybody interest in videogames like i am.