PlatinumGames executives Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya say that they haven't been considering NFTs in the gaming space – and have called out what they see as the money-hungry gaming companies that have adopted NFT schemes. Kamiya called out Konami in particular.

The execs say they understand that NFTs have been the talk of the town but, as it stands, they see it as a way only for driving profit within a company and have little to no positive impact on creators or gamers. The topic of NFTs has been contentious, so those who might have feared that PlatinumGames might join the party won't need to fear.

In an interview with VGC, Inaba says, "The people who are trying to promote NFTs and partner with gaming companies, their conversations seem extremely one-sided. ‘Hey, you’re going to make money!’ But how does it benefit the user or the creator? If I want to spend my time on something, I want it to benefit making good games."

Inaba says that as content becomes increasingly digitalized, the concept of NFTs could become more important. However, as he sees it, early adopters are using them just to profit. As a result, Inaba has no interest in making NFTs a part of Platinum's business.

Kamiya also notes that he has absolutely zero interest in NFTs because he thinks of himself more as a gamer at heart rather than a businessman. "It doesn’t have any benefit for users at the moment," Kamiya explains. "In the future, if it’s expanded in a way that has a positive side for users, then maybe I’ll start to be interested in what they do with it. But I’m not seeing that at the moment."

Additionally, other Japanese companies like Square Enix and Konami have expressed their interest in NFTs. When asked about whether it was surprising that Konami jumped on the NFT train so quickly, Kamiya was fairly brutal in his assessment, "Not really. If it smells like money, Konami’s going to be there in a heartbeat!"

While some companies have been embracing NFTs (often to huge backlash), others have been similarly hesistant. Sega explained that it would drop NFT plans if they end up being perceived as simple money making schemes. Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson also previously said NFTs were going to be an important part of the game industry's future. However, he eventually stepped back saying that the company was not actively pursuing NFTs, presumably due to their recent backlash from gaming communities.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

Players playing the pre-release version of Nintendo Switch Sports are forbidden from talking about their experiences with the game on social media – despite the Online Play Test being free to anyone with a Switch Online membership.

As spotted by Liam Robertson on Twitter (below), Nintendo said on its website, that "by registering to participate in the Online Play Test, you agree not to share information about the Online Play Test publicly, including the sharing of screenshots or video footage from the game on social media."

It's unclear how Nintendo intends to enforce that rule, however, and no punishments are listed for those that break it.

In more news of Nintendo being dumb and out of touch: they are prohibiting players of the Nintendo Switch Sports online playtest from sharing *anything* on social media about it. https://t.co/UWdnCUR9G1 pic.twitter.com/yboRpRZLBS

— Liam Robertson (@Doctor_Cupcakes) February 16, 2022

It's not uncommon for such a stipulation to built into closed beta builds of pre-release games, but this paytest is far more open to the public than many such schemes. Reaction to the decision online has been one broadly of confusion.

Nintendo points out further into its terms and conditions that the "Online Play Test software is under development and may not be reflective of the full version of Nintendo Switch Sports," adding that "you may experience unexpected behaviour or errors while playing."

Registration for the playtest opened today, and you can get access by subscribing to the Switch Online service and heading to this website.

The Online Play Test for Nintendo Switch Sports, a 15-years-later sequel to Wii Sports, is spread across five separate 45-minute sessions on February 19 and 20, offering Switch Online members a chance to play the game ahead of its launch on April 29.

The game will feature six different modes on launch (Tennis, Bowling, Chambara, Soccer, Badminton, and Volleyball) but Nintendo has confirmed that Golf is also on its way via a free update this autumn.

Nintendo unveiled Switch Sports during its latest Nintendo Direct, where it also announced Xenoblade Chronicles 3, 48 new tracks for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a new Mario Strikers and a ton of other new games and updates.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

HBO Max's Peacemaker just confirmed that Christopher Smith is bisexual, and James Gunn has credited John Cena for making that decision about his character.

In an interview with Empire magazine, hitting newsstands on February 17, per SlashFilm, Peacemaker creator James Gunn revealed that the idea to turn the series' titular anti-hero into a bisexual character was one that developed naturally when John Cena stepped back into the role of the violent vigilante to lead his own solo series on HBO Max.

"Peacemaker is an interesting character because he's so f*****-up in so many ways, and then in other ways, he is kind of weirdly forward-thinking," Gunn explained. "John does improv all the time, and he just turned Christopher Smith into this hyper-sexualized dude that is open to anything sexually. I was surprised by that. But I thought, 'I guess it makes sense that this guy isn't one-dimensional.'"

Cena determined that Peacemaker would be bisexual by reflecting on the history of his character and the struggles that he faced throughout his bleak upbringing, which is when the realization hit that his past experiences would most likely have broadened his mind and made him "willing to do anything" to a certain extent.

"We see in the show that he doesn't have any issues with sexuality," Gunn said, acknowledging that the series dropped more than a few hints about Peacemaker's bisexuality before confirmation arrived in the penultimate episode. "As long as you're not f****** animals — that he's not into. But besides that, he's pretty open. And yet other things he's completely close-minded on."

Peacemaker's bisexuality was referenced in a line of dialogue from his father, the villainous White Dragon, in Episode 7, "Stop Dragon My Heart Around," which aired on February 10. IGN awarded the episode an 8 out of 10, noting how "the characters have grown individually and as a team, developing into a group that just might be capable of saving the world."

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Prime Video has dropped the first trailer for The Boys Presents: Diabolical, an eight-episode animated anthology series set in the same universe as the Emmy-nominated hit The Boys.

The trailer plunges viewers into the unseen crevices of The Boys Universe, presenting snippets of the show's most twisted tales while spotlighting the exceptional voice cast helping to bring those stories to life — with Awkwafina, Michael Cera, Don Cheadle, Kieran Culkin, and Giancarlo Esposito amongst the many, many stars lending their voices to the project.

The Diabolical world glimpsed in the trailer will unravel across eight "fun-size" episodes, running 12-14 minutes and each with its own animation style. The show's first animated teaser saw Laser Baby causing carnage as the perpetrator of some very gory scenes, which we'll see more of when the show debuts on March 4.

Laser Baby's Day Out, written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, was directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson and Derek Thompson. The first clip released to tease the episode displayed a colorful cartoon reminiscent of classic American animated shorts, particularly Looney Tunes, though various other styles will be present throughout the series.

Other stories featured in The Boys: Diabolical include "An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents," written by Justin Roiland and Ben Bayouth, with direction from Parker Simmons in the style of Justin Roiland's aesthetic, and "I'm Your Pusher," written by Garth Ennis and directed by Giancarlo Volpe as a homage to the original The Boys comics.

"Boyd in 3D," penned by Eliot Glazer from a story that he plotted with Ilana Glazer, takes inspiration from French comics and animation, with Naz Ghodrati-Azadi directing. "BFFs," written by Awkwafina and directed by Madeleine Flores, resembles Saturday morning animation imports while "Nubian vs Nubian," written by Aisha Tyler and directed by Matthew Bordenave, is presented in an anime style.

Rounding out the series, "John and Sun-Hee" from writer Andy Samberg and director Steve Ahn takes its influences from Korean drama and horror, while "One Plus One Equals Two," written by Simon Racioppa, presents a darker side of American superhero animation, with direction from Jae Kim and Giancarlo Volpe. These tales can be glimpsed in the poster below:

In addition to the previously announced cast members and those highlighted on the poster, The Boys: Diabolical will also feature the vocal talents of Kimberly Brooks, Nicole Byer, Frances Conroy, Asjha Cooper, Chris Diamantopolous, John DiMaggio, Jermaine Fowler, Emily Gordon, Grey Griffin, Randall Duk Kim, David Marciano, Xolo Maridueña, Dominique McElligott, Caleb McLaughlin, Colby Minifie, Eugene Mirman, Retta, Kevin Michael Richardson, Somali Rose, Parker Simmons, Ursula Taherian, Fred Tatasciore, Sean Patrick Thomas, Angela Marie Volpe, Gary Antony Williams, and Jenny Yokobori.

The Boys Presents: Diabolical will premiere all episodes on March 4 exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. It is being released ahead of The Boys Season 3, which is due to drop its first three episodes on June 3, with the remaining five episodes of that series airing every Friday through July 8.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Futurama star John DiMaggio has spoken up during the ongoing 'Bendergate' controversy online, saying that he and his co-stars should be paid more, and that, “It’s about self-respect."

The 53-year-old voice actor is currently negotiating with the show’s producers for a better deal, and DiMaggio took to Twitter to explain further why he hasn’t signed up for the Futurama revival.

“I’ve been thinking about everything that’s been going on these past months,” said DiMaggio. “And just to be clear, I don’t think that only I deserve to be paid more. I think the entire cast does.”

After the new Futurama revival was announced, a major backlash began trending on Twitter after it became clear that John DiMaggio had been left out – #bendergate had begun. Now, it transpires that his absence is due to ongoing negotiations for the role, and his fellow voice actors have shown their support since.

“Negotiations are a natural part of working in business,” he added. “Everyone has a different strategy and different boundaries. Their ‘price.’ Some accept offers, some hold their ground. Bender is part of my soul and nothing about this is meant to be disrespectful to the fans or my Futurama family.”

Of course, the fans are shaken at the thought of Bender’s original voice actor not returning. but it looks as though most support DiMaggio in his quest.

“It’s about self-respect,” he explained. “And honestly, being tired of an industry that’s become far too corporate and takes advantage of artist’s time and talent. Look, I wish I could give you every detail so you would understand, but it’s not my place. Thanks again for the love everyone. Still hoping for the best.”

According to fellow voice actor James Adomian, Hulu had already begun looking for a replacement for DiMaggio, with an audition notice for the role sent out two weeks ago.

“Seeing it, I said out loud 'Shove it!' in my best Bender voice,” he said via Twitter. “Which will always just be a fanboy cosplay of John DiMaggio.”

Original cast members Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, and David Herman are all confirmed to return. But John DiMaggio is still holding out.

One of the most recognizable voices in the industry, DiMaggio is perhaps best known for the role of Bender but has also voiced the likes of Jake the Dog in Adventure Time, and King Zøg in Disenchantment.

Futurama is set to return to production later this month.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

No Man's Sky creator Sean Murray says his galaxy-spanning sandbox isn't close to being finished, despite receiving its 19th major update today.

Speaking to IGN, Murray said the team at Hello Games is continuously coming up with new features they'd like added to No Man's Sky, and each new update inspires more and more ideas.

He said, for "as many updates as we've done since launch and as many bucket list items we've checked off, our list of things we're excited about never seems to get any shorter. The team are always coming up with new things that they want to do with the game: new content and features and areas for improvement.

"I'm amazed that the energy levels are as high now as they've ever been. We tend not to talk about what's on that list publicly but suffice to say we're not done yet by a long shot."

Murray explained its roadmap and development schedule as similar to a painting that never quite seems complete:

"I like to think that No Man's Sky is such a large game that we have to paint in broad brush strokes," he said, "and then each update comes along and fills in some finer detail but also paints more new broad strokes.

"That's certainly the case here. If you look at our patch notes [for the Sentinel Update], you'll see an absolute ton of refinements, but also huge new features too."

That list of updates that Hello Games has planned for No Man's Sky is being worked on alongside a new game from the studio that, in September 2021, Murray said was "very early" in development. The only morsel of information revealed is that it's a "huge, ambitious, game like No Man's Sky", though not a sequel.

This will likely be the case for a while, as Murray also said "we've learned our lesson" on talking about their games too early after No Man's Sky open (and controversial) pre-release.

The new Sentinel Update completely overhauled the game's combat by adding new weapons, updating old ones, and bringing a hoard of new enemies to use them on.

While the update is available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC today, Nintendo players can enjoy the update alongside the rest of No Man's Sky when it comes to Switch this summer.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale.

The Batman may not be an origin story for Bruce Wayne, but it will be for Catwoman, The Penguin, and The Riddler.

At a recent panel attended by IGN, director Matt Reeves explained, “The thing about the movie is that it isn’t a Batman origin story, but it is an origin story for every rogue’s gallery character that you come across,” he revealed. “Selina Kyle is not yet Catwoman and The Penguin is not yet the kingpin.”

We'd previously heard that Catwoman's origins would be covered in the movie, but it seems we'll be getting the same approach for other famous foes.

Zoë Kravitz had a lot to say about her take on Catwoman, and it looks as though the young Selina Kyle hasn’t quite become the villain we know and love. At least, not yet.

“It was really lovely to be able to play Selina and not have to jump straight to Catwoman,” said Kravitz. “I had this wonderful opportunity to slowly develop her, and the audience gets to come on that journey with me.” Of course, Kravitz finds ways to hint at “you know… who she will become”.

But then, Catwoman and The Penguin (Colin Farrell) aren’t the only villains in The Batman. We’ll also see the legendary mob boss, Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), not to mention the main act – Paul Dano’s vigilante take on The Riddler.

This focus on The Batman’s villains moves away from the traditional origin story, which usually focuses on the death of Batman’s parents. And though this element will remain in The Batman's background, Bruce Wayne’s rise as the caped crusader isn’t exactly the same.

“It’s kind of different to the traditional origin story,” explained Pattinson. “He doesn’t go away and train and come back as a fully mastered Batman at all, and he’s not the traditional playboy persona. Something has happened to him and he’s basically just… there’s too much trauma for him to deal with. When he’s Bruce – it’s still the day his parents died. He hasn’t gotten over it at all.”

As for the film’s villains, there are plenty more to explore in potential sequels, with director Matt Reeves keen to take on Mr. Freeze. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson wants to explore the Court of Owls. With two sequels said to be on the cards, that sounds like one hell of a trilogy.

Robert Pattinson stars as The Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and Paul Dano as The Riddler. The Batman is directed by Matt Reeves, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Peter Craig.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Batman’s voice is almost as iconic as the Dark Knight himself – a gravelly growl that resonates throughout the Gotham underworld. So with that pressure how did Robert Pattinson’s find his take on The Batman's tones?

At a recent panel attended by IGN, the 35-year-old star of The Batman opened up about how he worked on his very own Bat-voice:

“I think the first two or three weeks we were doing a variety of different voices because there are only a couple lines in the first few scenes we shot,” he explained. “Me and Matt [Reeves, director] just sort of settled on something... it started to sit in a very particular place. It felt like a progression from other Bat-Voices, and started to feel somewhat comfortable to do as well."

According to Pattinson, there was a lot of trial and error in those early days. Being cast about seven or eight months before the film began shooting, he had plenty of time to experiment, and ultimately found a voice he was happy with.

“It's weird, it just suddenly starts to feel right,” he explained. “It seems that the more you embody the suit, the more you embody the character; it just started to come out quite organically. That's kind of what I was trying to do with the character; I was trying to think, he's not putting on a voice – he puts on the suit, and the voice just starts happening for him.”

As well as finding his voice, Pattinson explained how he found his own persona for Bruce Wayne, and more importantly, his reason for becoming The Batman.

"The suit, the Batmobile, all his tools – it’s just a guy obsessing in his basement, building," he said. "Even the grapple gun – it’s [Taxi Driver antihero] Travis Bickle. It’s a guy sitting there going, ‘My city is collapsing around me – I need to build these little tools’."

But director Matt Reeves explained that Pattinson’s versatility was key to finding the right voice.

“One of the many amazing things about [Robert Pattinson] is that he has such incredible technical control of himself... of his instrument,” he said. “He can do things with his voice... It was a crazy thing... I was saying, 'Oh, you can go lower?' I was like, 'That's amazing.'”

Previous Batmen have all found their own way into the voice. Although Ben Affleck’s Batman used the high-tech wizardry of a voice modulator to alter its pitch, it sounds as though this time around, it was all on Pattinson.

“He went through this process of searching where it felt like that voice should sit,” explained Reeves. “He has an incredible ear for mimicry and accents. There's no dialect coach; that's just who he is... The voice is one of the key ways into the character for you, right? You told me that if you played someone with exactly your accent, that your voice would probably not come out exactly in your voice... Would you say that is true? It seems to me that you have a very special process.”

But when it comes down to it, Pattinson was rather humble about his ability, saying it just came down to mouth shapes. “It seems obvious in retrospect, but you don't really realize... that the whole character, the whole performance of your voice is how many different shapes you can do with your mouth,” said Pattinson. “But yeah, you don't realize until you're doing it.”

Robert Pattinson stars as The Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Colin Farrell as The Penguin, and Paul Dano as The Riddler.

The Batman is directed by Matt Reeves, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Peter Craig.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Damage State, a three-person development team from the same UK town as Forza Horizon 5 developer Playground Games, has announced Scathe, a bullet-hell first-person shooter due out this year for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. A playable PC demo will be available as part of Steam Next Fest from February 21-28.

Scathe is being published by Kwalee. As you can see in the announcement trailer above, Scathe is a fast-paced FPS that emphasizes speed, promising "big guns and even bigger demons."

Scathe will also include a drop-in/drop-out cooperative mode. As the developers describe it, "You play as Scathe, Enforcer of the legions of Hell, forged from the earth by the Divine Creator themself. And you, like your fallen kin before you, must prove your worth by navigating a deviously crafted maze, entangled with demonic evil at every twist and turn."

You can wishlist Scathe on Steam if you're interested.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Skybound's latest comic book announcement is a bit different from the norm. Rather than debuting a brand new series, the publisher is bringing the complete run of acclaimed French comic Lastman to the English language market for the first time. As it turns out, Skybound founder Robert Kirkman is "absolutely obsessed with" the series.

Lastman was created by Bastien Vivès, Yves "Balak" Bigerel and Michaël Sanlaville. This heavily manga-influenced series is set in a fantasy world called Valley of Kings, where each year the king and queen hold a tournament of magicians. The series' protagonist, 12-year-old Adrian Velba, dreams of winning the tournament. But when his partner falls ill, Velba has no choice but to team up with the brutish Richard Aldana, a fighter who prefers his hands to magical spells.

Lastman was originally published in 12 volumes (or "Tomes") between 2013 and 2019. First Second Books originally acquired the rights to publish English language translations of the series, but only the first six Tomes ever saw release in the US. Skybound has now taken over distribution rights to the full series and will begin releasing new graphic novel collections of Lastman in Fall 2022. Each graphic novel will collect two Tomes and will feature revised translations more faithful to the original French text.

Publishing Lastman in English is a bit of a passion project for Kirkman, who will also be writing the foreword for the first graphic novel.

“LASTMAN is a revelation of immense creativity, thrilling as a fan and humbling as a creator," said Kirkman in Skybound's press release. "Balak, Sanlaville, and Vivès have combined to create an evolving story, each volume advancing the story in an entertaining and engaging way, while also being completely different than the volume before. It's a masterclass in tone, originality, and world-building. It's a series I'm absolutely obsessed with, and I'm sorry this quote seems dry and hyperbolic. I don't mean for it to, I'm trying to be sincere. This is me, Robert Kirkman, trying to sincerely urge anyone reading this to buckle down and get ready for awesome when this book is finally available to you."

Kirkman continued, "I don't like writing quotes like this. It's not fun. I don't know if they work. Are you reading this, still on the fence, waiting for these words to sway you into trying this amazing series? A mere glance at the art isn't enough? Really? Okay. So I'm here, trying to help you. Because whether you know it or not, you need this book in your life. You just do. I don't know you. I don't know anything about your life. But I know that. You need to read this book. Everyone does. The world is a better place because this book is a part of it. Don't you want to be a part of this world? It's been a rough few years for everyone. Treat yourself. You deserve it. You deserve LASTMAN. Get it.”

Look for Lastman Vol. 1 to hit comic book stores and digital providers on November 15, 2022.

Even if you're not familiar with the Lastman comic, you may have played the video game spinoff. The comic inspired 2016's LastFight, a fighting game released on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.

In other comic book news, Batman is taking over Superman's Fortress of Solitude and IGN got an exclusive first look at The Passageway, the start of Jeff lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's new shared horror universe.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.