What happened to local multiplayer?

OPINION

Something came into my head recently. No, not what day of the week it was or what I'm going to have for dinner. The idea that came to me recently was, what happened to local multiplayer? Anyone remember the days where playing multiplayer meant going around to your friend's place, picking up a controller and giving something like Street Fighter or FIFA a thorough playing for an hour or two?

Call it an old-fashioned way of looking at things but with high-speed broadband connections, friends in far-reaching places of the world and online multiplayer included in titles such as Call of Duty, Uncharted 2, Gears of War and their brethren, the idea of sharing the same screen and complaining that your avatar is too small for your eyes to comprehend appear to be slowly becoming a thing of the past (at least as far as the more powerful machines on the market appear to be concerned).

The Wii, however, does seem to hold up a valiant candle against onliine-only multiplayer with titles such as Wii Sports, Wii Play, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Mario Kart Wii showing that you can still have fun with friends and a Wiimote or two.

Let's not forget the wireless ad-hoc play offered by portable machines such as the DS and PSP (remember those?) Although admittedly not as popular in the West as its native Japan, ad-hoc play on games such as Monster Hunter prove popular for PSP fans, allowing up to four players at once and collaborative monster-hunting a plenty.

That, or competing on Mario Kart with other DS owners in order to take the top spot is firm reassurance that local multiplayer still has a beating heart. It may just have to remain on an internet-free portable device to be the case.

What are your thoughts on local and online multiplayer in the modern day? And do you enjoy playing with other people or prefer to play solo when it comes to your gaming time? Any thoughts, feel free to post them down below.