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That price point might seem shocking, but it’s not all that unexpected; I speculated that we could see pricing that high when the handheld was officially revealed. The idea of an Xbox branded handheld that can play downloaded games and stream Game Pass will be tempting for some diehard users, but it could be a really tough sell at those prices. The reality is, there’s a lot of competition right now when it comes to handheld gaming. Between Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch 2, gamers have multiple options now for gaming on the go.
The potential price point is already leading to a lot of pushback online. Several posters on Reddit seemed flabbergasted by the cost, with some going so far as to say that the handheld will be “DOA.” Those more familiar with handheld PCs are facing a little less sticker shock, but it’s unclear how many will actually be willing to purchase the ROG Xbox Ally when it gets released.
Hopefully Xbox and ASUS will announce official U.S. pricing soon so potential buyers can get some definitive answers (and know how much they’ll need to save up). It’s unlikely that the ROG Xbox Ally is going to see widespread market adoption, especially in an era where the Xbox brand is already struggling to adapt and compete. Some would have preferred a handheld created in-house by Microsoft, which was once planned but reportedly cancelled. That might have resulted in a cheaper option for accessing Xbox games on a dedicated portable gaming device, but it’s impossible to say for certain.
