I feel sorry for people who were so certain this generation would spark some kind of online frenzy.
Just a year or two ago, they were so sure that console online gaming would be this huge entity that no "true gamer" could possibly deny. A feature that really pushes hardware(expecially in the case of Xbox Live), while taking gaming to "new heights."
I'm pretty sure I wrote a piece on it, urging us to seperate our own hardcore perceptions/excitement from the reality that online gaming(on console, and in general, for that matter) is JUST NOT VIABLE YET.
Heh... they never learn....
edit: as for the original post...
I think the statement should have us think long and hard about what quality multiplayer gaming really means.
On one hand, you have a certian group thinking that having a fun multiplayer experience simply means taking X, Y, or Z game, and slapping it online with a multiplayer mode, with all of the modern "buzz-words" one can think of.
On the other hand, here we have Miyamoto doing something that NO ONE WOULD HAVE EVER SUGGESTED. Taking one of the simplest gameplay systems ever in a game(avoid the enemies in a maze), transforms that into a multiplayer game, and effectively creates what is apparently a level of interaction and fun between multiple players that most of today's more elaborate, hi-tech games fall short of offering. I wonder if we(including many developers in the industry) know as much about games as we think.
Here's what I think we can conclude from that:
When other developers unravel the mystery of what makes a game fun to play, in it's simplest form,
then only then will we see more technology-oriented (online) games that
truly take multiplayer gaming to new heights in gameplay and overall entertainment/fun.
Sure, it sounds easy...