The ROG Xbox Ally launched to solid reviews this past week, with many praising its performance capabilities in a vacuum, while criticizing the cost and questioning how much of an Xbox product this really is. Well, we now know that at least when it comes to pricing, Microsoft gave free rein to Asus to ask what it felt was right for the hardware. In a new interview with Variety, Xbox President Sarah Bond detailed how the company developed the Xbox ROG Ally with Asus, along with teasing next-gen hardware to come.
Xbox is one of three players in the mainstream console market, alongside PlayStation and Nintendo. These three differentiate themselves from PC by offering an integrated package that has a much better value proposition. For instance, even today, the PS5 hardware for ~$500 is a great deal, considering similar performance would likely cost you more on PC. That's what makes the Xbox ROG Ally a wild card, because it isn't exactly affordable — $599 for the base unit and $999 for the Xbox Ally X is a bold demand.
"That is all of their insight into the market, into the feature set, into what people want, to determine the ultimate prices of the devices,” said Sarah Bond, confirming that the company relied on Asus' experience in handhelds to get to the final price. While early leaks hinted at a $549 price for the base model and $899 for the upgraded Ally X, it turned out to be even more expensive when Microsoft officially unveiled the pricing, causing an uproar in the community.
Despite the steep costs, the more expensive ROG Ally X sold out on the Microsoft Store when pre-orders opened, and sales have been consistent, according to Xbox itself, with Sarah recalling, "The reaction was overwhelming demand for the device... I feel really good about the value that we’re giving gamers for the price, based off the reception to the hardware." That's certainly a controversial statement that many won't agree with, especially considering how weak the Z2A-powered standard Xbox Ally is. It's more expensive than even a Series X but performs only slightly better than last-gen's Steam Deck in many tests.
Bond also hinted at Microsoft's next-gen hardware, which she says is in the prototyping and design stage. She said Microsoft's partnership with AMD would provide an opportunity to innovate and bring gamers a choice. Beyond rumors, we only have speculative fiction to gossip over, so let's just hope that Magnus (the name of the APU it's said to be using), being a mainline Xbox console, is more competitively priced when it arrives.
Despite the setbacks, Xbox and Asus have cooked up a competent handheld that, if it weren't for the pricing, would've been a slam dunk like the Steam Deck. Not to mention that such a partnership could yield cheaper, more attractive options in the future, now that the existing ROG Ally platform has already been utilized once. If you're interested in getting your hands on an Xbox ROG Ally, then make sure to check out our guide on where to buy one.
Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.
This will probably be the case with all of the upcoming third party Xbox hardware. And since the new Xbox will support other game stores it will likely follow suit.
This will probably be the case with all of the upcoming third party Xbox hardware. And since the new Xbox will support other game stores it will likely follow suit.
Depends on how you look at it, if xbox just becomes xbOS™ and you can have the same experience on the PC* you already have then that will definitely be cheaper than buying an console on top of the system* you already have.
*or whatever else you have that is capable of running basic windows
Xbox branding + ROG branding = double up charging. I dream of having the income to be able to splash out $1000 for a gaming machine that can't even do 60fps at the lowest details...
I'd hoped when the branding was announced that they'd subsidize the price but one could tell that didn't happen when the price was announced. In the end Asus increased the price from the Ally X by 25% and the only meaningful difference is the SoC. Unfortunately that SoC isn't even a universal performance improvement even with the extra memory freed by Xbox fullscreen.
Had this been a $800-900 part I think the reception would have been much better. Asus benefited in terms of pricing from MSI raising the price on the LNL Claw to ~$1000 and Lenovo's Z2E costing $1300+.
I hope the new pricing isn't a trend for the handheld PC space, but at the end of the day if it is I'll just never buy another one.
I'd say it was a horrible idea but I doubt MS had a lot of say in the matter unless they planned on subsidizing the handheld which AFAICT is the last thing MS wants to do in the console market right now considering they cancelled their native version of an XB handheld.
