I read recently in Electronic Gaming Monthly that Nintendo is not going to include networking capabilities in their next generation console.

Are they stupid?

I love Nintendo. I always have. I'm not more that three years older than Nintendo of America. But how can they not see that networking is the future of gaming. Look at the Xbox's Halo. Is it a great shooter? Eh... not in my opinion. But does it have great multiplayer? You betcha. Now think of how many Xbox units were sold simply to play that game online with bunches of people around the globe. From my perspective, that's what made the system successful.

Now the next generation consoles are going to continue this. Microsoft's Xenon and Sony's PS3 have both been announced to have built in networking functionality. This is the future of console gaming and Nintendo will miss the boat if they don't pay heed.

Yes, Nintendo will always have good games, especially for the younger market, but without online multiplayer Nintendo gamers are going to become a niche market.

Feel free to disagree. This is just what I'm thinking about today.