I remember my brother opening his Super Nintendo on his 3rd birthday. I was four years old. From that moment I began playing games, and my very first memory of gaming was playing with my dad on Super Mario World. Now when I play games I am usually alone on my couch with a controller or handheld in my hand. Many times there is not a soul in sight, and it is a rare occasion indeed if I am even wearing a headset and talking to someone. Why don't I play multiplayer games any more? I honestly don't have an answer. I just don't seem to enjoy them as much as I used to. I think that the atmosphere and feeling of playing a multiplayer game has fundamentally changed. I used to play a multiplayer game for the sense of brotherhood and friendship between my friends and my family. It seems now that multiplayer gaming is all about having the best K/D ratio and being sworn at by random 10 year olds. In recent times I can remember a few games that have brought me back. In this case each of these games happen to have multiplayer and split-screen components. However, my great experience playing these games have come with playing not online, but with my friends in person. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time was an amazingly fun, dungeon-crawling, experience with my friends. We laughed, we yelled at each other, but most importantly, we had fun. I'm certainly not saying that online multiplayer games are not fun, but there is something to be said about good old-fashioned multiplayer games. I feel like this style of game is quickly going away. Anymore I find that many of the games that have the potential for four-player split-screened mayhem have taken out this element and opted for the more popular online service. Some of these games have left the local multiplayer option, but reduced it to two players. While this does allow me to play these games with friends regardless of their location, but more often than not you find yourself playing with strangers. I just hope that my favorite multiplayer memories don't fad away to be replaced by impersonal online experience. For now I will try to adapt and hope that developers remember that some people would rather play in a room yelling and laughing with their friends.