Did the internet partially kill gaming?

This implies you can't have internet gaming without competition. That'd be like saying there's no use for multiplayer at all unless you play competitively. Sometimes you just want to kick back with people that you know and...play, y'know? The purpose of games are to have fun. I understand what you mean, some developers completely shaft the single player aspect of a game to have a broadly defined multiplayer online experience. But what it call comes down to is if the game is FUN. You don't have to play competitively online, though I do wish more games took away lose/win ratios from the non-ranked matches. Sure it's not ranked, but it still encourages people to play for WINS rather than for fun.

The internet has given games that most people would put down after the story mode and never touch again a chance to shine. Imagine how poorly received the Halo franchise would be if it was just standalone story? What made it at first was the huge lan parties people could have with the first game, and Halo has always been a series that's better known for its multiplayer than its story. Do you really think games like Halo would be that popular if it wasn't for the endless replay time and fun factor that the online play adds to it?

You could argue that if it wasn't for multiplayer, the developers would focus more of their attention on building a more compelling story. But to be honest, no matter how good the story is, you'll most likely play 1 or 2 playthroughs of it before you've had enough.