Consoles don’t even have split screen any more. Sucks.

Sure they do - depends on the game. Baulder’s Gate 3 can handle split screen coop. It Takes Two is a co-op only platformer. Knight Squad gets up to 8 people playing at once.

You can find many more options here https://www.co-optimus.com/games.php

It’s more like: the default assumption of a AAA console games used to be some local multiplayer. Now, you have to look for it.

Different kind of experience