I want to play this game NOW!

Unfortunately Verizon doesn't sell them directly. Only way to use them on Verizon is to buy them unlocked.

Well I love the design of these phones. I'd be happy if they kept this same design for the next 5 years (including headphone jack and removable storage). And maybe by doing so they could manage to bring the price down below $1,000?

As someone else pointed out to me, fighting games (like Street Fighter) and sports games (like Madden and FIFA) still have local multiplayer. But that is a far cry from the olden days of local couch multiplayer or co-op. And none of these are split-screen.

It's really too bad, because those kinds of games were a ton of fun. I wonder if they will see a resurgence at some point in the future? Seems like something someone might tap into at some point and people go crazy for it in some way that results in a few fairly high profile games in a relitively short period of time.

That's true. I forget that Sports games exist that people multi-play locally. But that's fair. Especially if they push this harder outside of North America.

Why? I mean, there have been unofficial bundles that include a second controller. But why would this come from Sony? I'd feel like most PS5 owners would rather have a special second controller that isn't the standard white. What games would even require two controllers?

What do you mean?