It’s sad to hear that offline multiplayer is so often disregarded, and online gaming is seemingly seen as the new multiplayer. There was a time when boasting four controller ports and multitaps were big things, but not anymore, as it’s almost like offline multiplayer never happened and only continues to quietly exist in the minds of many.

Perhaps this new ideology stems from the fact that online multiplayer is a relatively new thing to console gamers, although to call it a passing phase would be criminal. We love online gaming as much as anyone with a broadband connection, but why do so many talk as if offline multiplayer no longer exists?

You just have to visit many sites or forums and you’ll hear about the online modes so often extending the lifespan, despite sometimes being similar to its offline multiplayer counterpart. So why do people forget about the original multiplayer? And why is playing on your own often seen as the only alternative to playing online?

There’s so many questions that are so difficult to answer and so many games that were adored for their multiplayer long before online gaming ever came along. It’s not as if every single person with Xbox Live accounts or online PS2 gamers are exclusively online and without others to play against, as this just isn’t true.

Both multiplayer versions do have their pros and cons. Offline multiplayer sometimes restricts the players to split-screen for example, whilst online multiplayer is sometimes hit by lag. But why can’t they co-exist as one instead of the newer coming along and proving its supremacy?

But in truth, a lot more people will actually be playing offline against each other opposed to online at this moment in time. Xbox Live may be quite the success story and continues to grow with each passing day, but online gaming hasn’t exactly hit the mainstream as of yet. But Nintendo sees some viable business in hopping onto the online bandwagon and Sony are planning on launching a much improved service with PS3, but will it take off as much as the big three are expecting? Only the passage of time will answer this question.

For us there will always be room for both, and we don’t view online gaming as the new multiplayer as the old one is very much alive. Just remember that online isn’t the only thing that provides a multiplayer experience, even if you are an exclusively online player, to forget this would be complete disrespect for the original group gaming experience, which came into existence decades before games were played through telephone lines.