The video game industry as a whole has evolved more than I could have ever imagined since I got started with the NES back in the mid 1980s. Back then the concept of multiplayer didn't even exist. If you wanted to play a game with a friend, they'd be sitting beside you with a controller in their hand or you'd simply take turns playing a single-player game. That's it.

Thanks largely in part to social networks like Facebook, gaming has evolved into a social experience. It's no longer desirable to play a game by yourself. Instead, we are force-fed the idea of sharing and competing with friends for the high score or playing against total strangers over the Internet. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but to each their own.

With this week's open forum, we want to hear your take on the topic. Do you prefer the solitude and escape that a quality single-player game offers or do you prefer to hop online and compete against others?