Nintendo still isn't ruling out game company acquisitions, but it doesn't seem particularly interested in them, with the company president putting more priority on building its existing game development DNA.

With Xbox set to buy Activision Blizzard and Sony finalising a purchase of Bungie, it's no surprise that Nintendo's latest investor Q&A saw president Shuntaro Furukawa asked if he was also looking to buy video game companies.

Per Bloomberg, Furukawa seemed more keen on investing in the developers Nintendo already owns than buying brand new ones, citing the need for 'Nintendo DNA' in the company's creators:

“Our brand was built upon products crafted with dedication by our employees, and having a large number of people who don’t posses Nintendo DNA in our group would not be a plus to the company."

Last year, Nintendo announced plans to invest up to 100 billion yen in its development studios, and that remains the plan. At that time, Furukawa made clear that it wouldn't rule out acquisitions in future, but Bloomberg reports that Furukawa added in the latest meeting that Nintendo would only do that if it were 'necessary'.

While we didn't get detail on what would make an acquisition necessary, it feels likely that an acquisition would only be made if a developer or company had experience or technology that Nintendo itself would find difficult or overly costly to replicate. Given that Nintendo tends to plough its own furrow in the games industry, that doesn't feel hugely likely at this point.

The last developer Nintendo purchased was Next Level Games in January 2021. Next Level had been working with Nintendo for many years before that purchase, meaning it was very likely seen as having the correct Nintendo DNA to become a first-party studio.

The feeling that Nintendo can successfully do its own thing is only likely to have been bolstered by its latest financials. The company revealed that the Switch has now outsold the Wii, and become the fastest home console to pass 100 million units sold. Pokemon Legends: Arceus has also become the second-fastest selling Switch game in Japan.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Despite previously working on a Costume Quest cartoon, Double Fine and legendary game designer Tim Schafer has shared that he doesn't really see a future where any of his games are turned into TV or movies.

Speaking to IGN's Ryan McCaffrey after winning the New York Videogame Critics Circle's Andrew Yoon Legend Award, Schafer discussed that while he is often approached by Hollywood about turning one of his games into a film or series, it usually ends up being "just a distraction."

"We often get approached by people saying, 'Hey, can we turn this into a movie?' but, you know It’s usually just a distraction," Schafer said. "I think games are what I really care about and what I like to make and what I think are interesting. It comes up every once and a while, but it’s never turned into anything. I’ve had a lot of free lunches out of Hollywood."

When Psychonauts was brought up as an IP that would seem like a great candidate for a life outside of games, Schafer said that, while he agrees you could "do tons of stuff with Pscyhonauts," he thinks that "games are cooler than movies and tv, so it's already peaked."

Full Throttle is another game that Schafer has been approached about, and Warcraft movie director Duncan Jones even wrote a full script to show him how it could be done. Schafer read the script and thought it was good and that, "you could tell he really played the game and knows what it's all about." However, even this intriguing Full Throttle experience doesn't give Schafer much hope.

"That was exciting," Schafer said. "It would be fun to work with Duncan but, you know, L.A. and Hollywood, they are just a big whirlpool of lunches."

For more, check out why Schafer wants Double Fine's next game to be an original property, read our review of Psychonauts 2, and learn more about the studio that has confirmed it is already working on multiple projects.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Double Fine founder and legendary game designer Tim Schafer has confirmed that, now that Psychonauts 2 is out in the wild, he wants his next game to be an original property and not an existing IP.

Speaking to IGN's Ryan McCaffrey after winning the New York Videogame Critics Circle's Andrew Yoon Legend Award, Schafer said that he really wants this next phase of Double Fine post-Psychonauts 2 to be filled with "new, original stuff."

"There's been some technical other games that I’ve worked on that have been sequels, but the first real big follow-up to a big story was Pscyhnonauts 2," Schafer said. "I think it leads me to want to do new, original stuff for the next phase. Coming up with new ideas is really where my head is at right now."

Since Double Fine is now part of Microsoft, Schafer was then asked if any of Xbox's available IP or franchises have piqued his interest. After joking about taking on King's Quest to finally get his revenge, he shared that ex-Double Fine programmer and designer Brad Muir had suggested they take on Warcraft Adventures. However, Schafer reiterated that the studio's future is all about original IP.

"Brad Muir was suggesting that we take on Warcraft Adventures, you know the Full Throttle-era adventure game that [Blizzard] made, but no, we like to make up our own stuff at Double Fine, so they will not be handing us any IPs," Schafer said.

For more, check out why Schafer doesn't want Psychonauts or any other Double Fine game turned into a movie, read our review of Psychonauts 2, and learn more about the studio that has confirmed it is already working on multiple projects.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

If you're wondering why you suddenly have a huge number of Car Mastery points to reassign in Forza Horizon 5, it's likely because Playground Games just released a large patch that fixes a multitude of issues, from persistent online issues to bugs that block progress in Horizon's story mode.

This update new addresses many of Forza Horizon 5's most irritating bugs, such as blocked progress in the game's story campaign and crashes that can occur when taking certain actions.

Here are some of the biggest fixes:

• A crash could occur when the game was installed at a path that was too long (Steam only). An error message will now appear instead.
• Fixed a bug that could block progress on Horizon Stories, with later chapters not unlocking despite meeting their requirements
• Fixed a crash that can occur when deleting a Rival Notification in the Message Center
• Various fixes for server stability and bandwidth optimization to improve the reliability of all online game modes
• Players will no longer lose their Skill Chain when they disconnect from Horizon Life

In addition to squashing bugs, there is also a bevy of improvements to multiplayer functions, including fixing persisting screens and notifications and adding cues in certain game modes, like an on-screen message when matchmaking in Horizon Open and audio cues to the Mini Mission HUD in Horizon Arcade.

Car Mastery tables, a perk system that allows players to unlock permanent and temporary upgrades, have been additionally been rebalanced in order to remove certain exploits. This is the second time that the Car Mastery tables in Forza Horizon 5 have been rebalanced because of exploits, with Playground Games closing the loopholes that allowed players to earn points even not playing while also fixing exploits involving Wheelspins.

Forza Horizon was IGN's Game of the Year for 2021, not the least because it's one of the most beautiful next-gen games to date. Playground Games is also participating in Black History Month, where Forza Horizon 5 will be hosting an in-game livery contest.

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

The Batman has been compared to Zodiac, Batman: Year One, and Nirvana. Now add another inspiration to the list: The Godfather.

In a new interview with MovieMaker magazine, actor Colin Farrell drew comparisons between The Penguin, who he will portray in The Batman, and Fredo Corleone — the classic example of a failed older brother. Farrell called Fredo "a bit of a reference" in his depiction of the famous Batman villain.

"There’s a certain amount of brokenness in Oz that, I think, as a reference, not for me performance-wise, but just emotionally, as a reference for Matt — I think Fredo from The Godfather was a bit of a reference," Farrell explained.

In the Godfather films, Fredo is the embittered older brother who is ultimately surpassed by Michael Corleone. Fredo winds up betraying Michael, leading to one of the most famous death scenes in cinematic history.

"[Director Matt Reeves] was just talking about somebody who had very real and very lofty ambitions, but never really had the opportunity or the chance to explore them, and was maybe looked upon as someone who was handicapped, whether it was psychologically, intellectually — Fredo was frowned upon as less than the other brothers, and maybe Oz as well, in his life, was looked upon as somebody who wasn't capable," Farrell said. "And so that’s one of the things that fuels Oz."

It's certainly a different take on Oswald Cobblepot, who has gone through a number of iterations through the years. Danny DeVito's Penguin from Batman Returns, for example, is literally raised by penguins. In other iterations he is an elegant, frequently foppish, crime boss.

Colin Farrell's Penguin isn't the only character getting a rethink in The Batman. The Riddler is said to be modeled after the Zodiac Killer, while Robert Pattinson's Batman is is full of anger. It's certainly a unique take on DC's iconic hero.

The Batman will be out March 4. While you wait, find out why Robert Pattinson's agent was surprised he wanted to play Batman, and check out the three-minute scene posted earlier this week.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Two new South Park specials are coming to Paramount+ in 2022, Collider reports. Paramount+ announced the news Wednesday during a presentation at the Television Critics Association. The news comes not long after it was announced that South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker are teaming up with rapper Kendrick Lamar for a new comedy film for the streaming platform.

A representative for Paramount+ told Collider that there were no particular windows the specials are scheduled for, and disregarded the idea that each special may be released near the end of each year.

"[The specials are] not necessarily always at the end of the year and not necessarily two-part events," the rep told Collider. "We're keeping those options, and like we said we’re incredibly flexible in terms of bringing those stories to Paramount+, but there will be two this year.”

Stone and Parker signed a $900 million deal last year with CBS, promising six new seasons of South Park and 14 movies for Paramount+. South Park previously debuted a COVID-related special in November on Paramount+. In the meantime, there's also some sort of new South Park game coming from some of the minds behind The Magic Circle and Blackout Club.

South Park premiers the first episode of its 25th season today on Comedy Central. Its 24th season consisted of just four extra-length specials focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, but season 25 returns to a traditional half-hour slot format.

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

MLB two-way star Shohei Ohtani will grace the cover of MLB The Show 22, and a superhero manga version of the athlete will appear on the game's collector's editions. In a fun collaboration, the art was done by Afro Samurai creator Takashi Okazaki.

Revealed on the PlayStation Blog, MLB The Show developer Sony San Diego said it wanted to use the collector's editions as an opportunity to incorporate Ohtani's love of manga and anime. Fittingly, Ohtani grew up reading "Major", a manga series about a baseball pitcher who could also hit home runs. It also turns out Okazaki is a huge Shohei Ohtani fan, which led him to partner with Sony to create an anime-style superhero version of the MLB star for the steelbook cover. You can take a look at the result below.

NEWS: Afro Samurai Creator Takashi Okazaki Illustrates Shohei Ohtani for MLB The Show 22 ⚾️

Read on: https://t.co/i6Hh7Dgcjk pic.twitter.com/YOY8tKHxhq

— Funimation (@Funimation) February 2, 2022

You can see the cover art shows Ohtani with a bat in one hand, while tossing a baseball in the other. This is in reference to his unique ability to both pitch and hit at a high level in Major League Baseball, which led him to a unanimous Most Valuable Player award in 2021.

“Shohei is a once-in-a-generation athlete with superhero like abilities on the field," Sony San Diego's Ramone Russell wrote. "What better way to bring that to life than to have worlds collide on a truly unique cover?”

Sony also paired the cover reveal with an animated trailer that showcases Ohtani's hitting and pitching skills, which you can watch below.

Along with this announcement, Sony revealed that Early Access is once again included in the collector's editions for MLB The Show. The standard edition launches on April 5, but players who buy the MVP Edition or Digital Deluxe Edition will be able to jump in starting April 1. We also recently learned that MLB The Show 22 will be available on PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and for the first time, Nintendo Switch.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Channing Tatum says he still struggles with the cancellation of his X-Men Gambit project, saying he was "traumatized" when the project was put to bed. In a new interview with Variety, the actor said he doesn't watch Marvel movies anymore because it makes him miss the character.

"Once Gambit went away, I was so traumatized," Tatum said. "I shut off my Marvel machine. I haven’t been able to see any of the movies. I loved that character. It was just too sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him."

Tatum wrote a script for the project alongside his longtime producing partner, Reid Carolin. The movie was set to be a raunchy stand-alone movie in the same vein of the Deadpool movies. Tatum says he felt the Gambit he wrote was "the coolest person" who could pull anything off.

He also commented on Gambit's fashion sense, saying, "Most superheroes, their outfits are utilitarian. Batman’s got his belt. Gambit’s like, 'No, this s**t's just fly, bro! This s**t walked down the Paris runway last year.' He’s just wearing the stuff that’s so dope because he loves fashion."

Tatum's attachment to the project started back in 2014, when Tatum was set to star as Gambit in a proposed standalone movie. His version of the character was supposed to debut in X-Men Apocalypse, but that ended up not happening. The movie underwent early production issues, cycling through multiple directors including Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski. Eventually, the movie was canceled after Disney's acquisition of Fox led to a number of X-Men projects getting left behind.

However, Tatum hasn't shut the door on eventually playing the character, saying he would "love to play Gambit" if given the chance.

We still haven't seen Gambit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so Tatum's goal could still be realized someday. For now, you can check out every other Marvel movie and TV show in the works for 2022 and beyond.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

The International Space Station has been orbiting Earth for 23 years, and NASA plans to keep it in operation until 2030. After its retirement, NASA will send the ISS to a watery grave in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean, according to a report released by the agency this week.

NASA plans for commercial space stations to replace the ISS. Three companies were selected last year to receive government funding for the development of low-Earth orbit stations. As those stations are built, NASA will become a customer of the commercial providers, rather than building and maintaining its own station.

Until that transition, the ISS will continue to be a hub for research, even as it surpasses 30 years in space. “This third decade is one of results, building on our successful global partnership to verify exploration and human research technologies to support deep space exploration, continue to return medical and environmental benefits to humanity, and lay the groundwork for a commercial future in low-Earth orbit,” said Robyn Gatens, director of the ISS at NASA, in a statement. “We look forward to maximizing these returns from the space station through 2030 while planning for transition to commercial space destinations that will follow.”

When it comes time to de-orbit, NASA will use propulsion from the thrusters of the ISS and other vehicles to lower its orbit toward Earth. About a year later according to estimates, operators will give it one more push and it will descend into the atmosphere.

The ISS is too big to completely burn up on re-entry, and NASA surely doesn’t want another incident like Skylab, which famously broke up and scattered debris across Australia. The agency plans to carefully aim the ISS’s remains on a trajectory toward Point Nemo, an area of the South Pacific Ocean that’s the farthest from any land. Point Nemo is known as the “spacecraft cemetery” because so much space junk has been sent there to avoid hitting inhabited areas.

Kait Sanchez is a freelance writer for IGN. Find them on Twitter @crisp_red.

Main image credit: NASA

Another long-awaited game is joining the stacked release lineup of February and March, as PlayStation has announced Ghostwire: Tokyo will launch on March 25, 2022. In addition to the release date news, PlayStation is also holding an official showcase for the game tomorrow, February 3 at 2 p.m. PT. You can watch the showcase on PlayStation's YouTube page.

Ghostwire: Tokyo update! See new gameplay and behind-the-scenes details in a special presentation from Bethesda this Thursday at 2pm Pacific: https://t.co/qTfvK9oYdJ pic.twitter.com/GPcTmNQ5A5

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 2, 2022

Ghostwire: Tokyo is the next game from Shinji Mikami's Tango Gameworks, developers of The Evil Within. It was first announced as a PlayStation exclusive during Bethesda's E3 2019 conference. Since then, Bethesda and all studios under its umbrella have been acquired by Microsoft, but the game is still launching as a timed console exclusive on PS5 and PC.

The title is an action-adventure game that will see players take on paranormal threats called The Visitors. These creatures take on forms like a child in a yellow raincoat, a bride who never got married, and other manifestations of loss and separation.

PlayStation has a one year exclusive on Ghostwire: Tokyo, so it won't appear on other consoles until at least March 25, 2023.

We got our first look at Ghostwire: Tokyo's gameplay during 2020's PlayStation 5 reveal event, but it's been pretty quiet since then. Last summer, the game was delayed to this year in order to 'protect the health' of those working on the game.

For more, read about why Ghostwire: Tokyo technically isn't a horror game, despite containing "spooky elements". You can also check out how Tango Gameworks is already working on its next game after Ghostwire: Tokyo.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.