Is Nintendo becoming a multiplayer-only developer? MTV’s Steven Totilo postulates that they are.

“Nintendo’s console is a party console, destined to mark the end of Nintendo-crafted single-player game designs,” Totilo wrote on his blog earlier today. “I fully expect the next Zelda, the next Donkey Kong, even the next Mario role-playing game to be designed in such a way that at least two players will be able to enjoy the main game mode simultaneously.”

Totilo backed up his theory with a look at Nintendo’s marketing, sales and upcoming games, as well as comments by top industry personas.

Whether or not Totilo is correct, Nintendo is clearly taking the road less traveled. Both the Wii and the DS went in radically different directions than their chief competitors, introducing new approaches to gameplay rather than upping the ante technology-wise.

Satoru Iwata, Nintendo’s president, recently called the current console business model, with 4-year generations, “too inflexible,” according to Next Generation. “When we will be able to launch a new kind of hardware will actually depend on when we can change entertainment completely,” he said.

Totilo concluded his analysis. “Where I’m going with all of this is the idea that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess may be a relic of a previous era. When the Wii is old, I expect that game to look like an aberration: a freakishly lonely experience offered in a library of titles designed primarily for group indulgence.”

Multiplayer is becoming more and more of a draw to games, inviting casual gamers to play online or with friends. The Wii especially, with its simple and enjoyable controls, has always been a party system. And given Guitar Hero III’s success, the multiplayer trend clearly is not limited to Nintendo. These games are easier and cheaper to develop, sell like hotcakes and produce sequels like rabbits.

With all this going against them, I certainly hope we won’t see an end to top-notch, big budget single player games, as Totilo envisions. Let’s hope Mass Effect will stick it to the multiplayer competition this Thanksgiving.