How do you access that? I have yet to find it anywhere after 7+ hours of playtime. Don't see anything on the gear screen about the transmog system nor anything anywhere in the wizarding companion book menu. Haven't found any vendors for it yet either.

Edit: Hmm, apparently it is on the gear screen and I misread the change appearance button as something else entirely. They really should have put a tutorial in there for that system. Well at least I know how to do it now.

So some things I like about Hogwarts Legacy so far.

+ A perfectly implemented transmog system. 
+ Lumos lighting affects mimic how they look in the films

+ A generous parry timing window. 
+ Ability to cast spells like Revelio whilst invisible

+ A voice pitch slider in the character creator. 
+ Pacing so far feels great, it didn’t shove everything in the first hour of gameplay.

+ The freedom to do what you want between classes/main quests is great. No timers, no constant nagging to do x and y, love to see it. 
+ Performance mode with VRR runs great so far, outside of having to wait a second or two before going outside and some stutters the game is running fine. 

Seriously though.

Idas

New article from Bloomberg, although nothing really new beyond a couple of opinions and a new statement from MS:

"The CMA's decision is key because if it chooses to block the deal, there is little recourse for the companies — UK courts rarely overturn a CMA merger decision," said Jennifer Rie, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. "Conditions will have to be thorough, beyond just licenses for Call of Duty," she said, adding that "an unconditional clearance is unlikely."

"The FTC may rely on the CMA to block it," said Anne C Witt, a professor of law at EDHEC Business School. "The European Commission just sent out a statement of objections, so there's no way they can get there before the CMA. The CMA is going to win this one and it will be interesting."

"To advance the gaming market to the benefit of all stakeholders, we believe it is important to consider clear and easily enforceable solutions to potential competition concerns," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

"Our commitment to grant long-term access to Call of Duty to Sony, as well as Nintendo and Steam, accomplishes this be preserving the deal's benefits to consumers and developers and promoting competition in the market," they said.

Why Microsoft’s $69 Billion Activision Deal Hinges on London Not Washington - Bloomberg

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, talks about cloud gaming and subscription services:

"We're believers in cloud gaming. We were one of the first licensors, if not the first licensor for Google Stadia to support that product."

"But remember, cloud gaming is a technology. It's not a business model. It's a distribution technology. And our view is broader distribution is always a good thing in the entertainment business. If we can reach more consumers with our properties, we're happy to do it as long as the terms make sense," he said. "I think broader distribution over time probably benefits us in any number of ways, including the cost of distribution, which I believe will go down over time. That said, never felt like cloud gaming would represent a seismic change because I think if you're prepared to pay $60 or $70 for a frontline title, you're also prepared to buy a console. And I think Stadia found that out."

He added, "So bringing high-quality titles to consumers who don't own consoles will probably have an effect around the edges, but I don't think it'll be hard revolution in the business. I think it will be more and the evolution of the business, and there's still technical challenges to be addressed."

Asked if subscriptions are taking a toll on sales of individual games and changing the way people engage with new titles, Zelnick said he is thrilled to be in the subscription business for catalogue titles at the appropriate time.

"We think that is the right way to support subscription," he said. "I think the last announcement was that Game Pass was 25 million subscribers. We're not talking a huge broad-based business yet. I don't believe that businesses cannibalizing our business."

Take-Two CEO Addresses Potential Disruption From New Business Models, Distribution and Tech | VentureBeat

Within its statement of issues, the CMA proposed the following remedies to address potential barriers to cloud gaming on Apple's ecosystem:

• Compelling Apple, and other app store operators, to review and amend guidelines to ensure cloud gaming providers are not unduly impacted
• Allowing prompts that let users know when a cloud gaming app is available as a web app
• Making app store approval and rejection processes more transparent and consistent
• Enabling sideloading of native apps on iOS
• Enabling the distribution of web apps through Apple's App Store
• Enabling the installation of alternative app stores on iOS

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CMA is going after Apple now, a little benefit to Xbox's mobile ambitions, although, Apple isn't happy, Lol.

So are we not getting GP announcements on Tuesdays of the first or 2nd week of the month? I'm curious what their strategy is.

Kotick explained that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the country would like to become the Silicon Valley of Europe.

"If a deal like this can't get through, they are not going to be Silicon Valley, they will be Death Valley," Kotick said in an interview on CNBC on Tuesday.

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UK is already Death Valley Tbh

Definitely feels like the old days of two 7-12 game drops per month are dead. We got one 7-12 game drop in December, one 3 game drop and one 7-12 game drop in January, and now here it is the day when the first drop of the month used to happen, the 1st Tuesday, and we have nothing.

Honestly, feels like Gamepass is really going down hill. Sony is out here dropping like 20 games per month on PS+ mid tier and high tier combined, alot of them AAA, while Xbox seems to be cutting their monthly drop quantity without any noticeable uptick in quality that I can see. Yeah, we are getting Atomic Heart day one on Gamepass this month which is great, I'm happy to get it, but not every month has a great day one Gamepass drop like that. Xbox really needs to step it up with Gamepass, they are rapidly losing one of their best advantages over Sony, and their main selling point, just as Sony gets their PS5 low stock situation under control. We're going to end up with another 2:1 hardware gen if Xbox doesn't step-up their game and fast. And I don't mean just their Gamepass game, they need to step it up everywhere; marketing, penetration into non-traditional Xbox countries, 1st party quality, 3rd party marketing and day one gamepass and exclusivity deals, 2nd party output, hardware bundles, limited edition consoles, etc., Xbox needs to step it up in all of the above and soon.