: You seem to be way overestimating the amount of people who give half a shit
: about story. Multiplayer is the reason most people buy games, and they
: want a new experience with every iteration. CoD being the exception (as
: far as a fresh experience).

I guess you've forgotten the times it was said Halo titles were bought for campaign over MM. Up until at least Halo 3 only 20% of sales resulted in a GT in MM.

I do agree with the importance of multiplayer and it potential to carry some of the fans between releases.

Multiplayer could stand alone from campaign if it's given enough support through DLC, community content, playlists and gametypes. Whether or not multiplayer is refreshed with each title release is moot.