Xbox’s New ROG Ally Portable May Be the Beginning of the End For Xbox

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Because of this, I thought I’d be more excited about the announcement of a dedicated Xbox portable gaming system. However, the announcement of the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X didn’t hype me up; instead, it filled me with dread for the future of Microsoft’s gaming console. In a world where Xbox has continued to lose ground to PlayStation and Nintendo, this disappointing portable has the potential to drive a final nail in the coffin.

Another Awful Xbox Name

Gamers have spent years rightfully making fun of Microsoft for its awful console names. Why the heck did they call the third Xbox “Xbox One?” For that matter, why the heck is the beefiest version of the current era the confusingly-titled “Xbox Series X?” For consumers, and particularly for parents buying gifts for their children, Sony’s naming convention (going from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5) is a much more intuitive approach.

Now, with the ROG Xbox Ally officially revealed, we’ve got another confusing piece of hardware. As with the latest home console, there are two similar titles: the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X. The base name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, and it’s got three confusing names all jammed in there together. It’s hard to stand out from the competitors when the new Microsoft hotness can’t even stand out from its other systems!

Hard to Hold, Hard To Look At

Hardcore fans have been waiting for the Xbox to go portable for years. However, Microsoft is a bit late to the party now. It’s basically impossible not to compare the ROG Xbox Ally to the Switch 2 or the Steam Deck. And even before we get to comparing specs, there’s a problem: simply put, this new Xbox portable seems hard to hold and even harder to look at.

Understandably, the new portable takes many design cues from the ROG Ally, which I’ve personally found difficult to hold and play for more than about 30 minutes. While the newer design adds some solid Xbox features, it doesn’t seem to fully address the ergonomic concerns of users like myself. Finally, while this is completely subjective, the new system is bulky and just looks ugly, particularly compared to the smooth lines of the Switch 2.

Overpriced Compared To the Competition

As of this writing, the ROG Xbox Ally price has not been officially revealed. However, a Spanish Asus website may have leaked the details, and it’s pretty depressing. If the leak proves true, the ROG Xbox Ally will be $750 while the beefier ROG Xbox Ally X will be almost $1,050! That means that the spiffiest version of this new portable may very well cost twice as much as the cost of the Xbox Series X.

At a glance, I can’t get over how comically overpriced that is. For the cost of a portable Xbox, you could go buy both a Nintendo Switch 2 and a Steam Deck. The latter is particularly notable because this new system’s main claim to fame is that you’ll be able to play Windows games on it, along with Xbox games. But why does that matter when you can play Windows games, plus almost every decent Xbox title like Halo Infinite, on a Steam Deck for half the price?  

The New OS Is a Major Gamble

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If you talk to ROG Ally fanboys, they will all say the same thing: that this portable’s secret weapon is its new Operating System. It’s supposed to be a streamlined OS, one designed primarily with gaming in mind. The end result is supposed to be all the convenience of Windows 11 without the annoying quirks and foibles of the desktop version.

At the risk of sounding like a Valve fanboy, though, how is this supposed to impress us when the Steam Deck offers its own streamlined experience with more support and at half the price? Right now, marketing the ROG Xbox Ally by touting the OS is a major gamble. And that gamble depends on selling people on the idea that this time around, Windows won’t suck quite as much.

Who, exactly, is that supposed to convince? 

The New Portable Is the Beginning of the End For Xbox

There are other potential problems with the ROG Xbox Ally, including the fact that it’s really just an Xbox in name only. As a lifelong fan of the core product, though, my bigger concern is that this new product signals the beginning of the end for the Xbox as we know it. It’s setting up a showdown between Microsoft, Nintendo, Valve, and Sony. And in this case, whoever wins, Xbox loses.

For example, let’s say that the ROG Xbox Ally is a smash hit with consumers and sells like hotcakes this holiday season. Those sales would come at the expense of the Xbox Series S and Series X, both of which have consistently lagged behind Switch and PlayStation 5 sales. In this example, Xbox will have effectively rebranded itself as a portable gaming company, and while they’d be successful in niche corners, their portable would never be able to overcome the Switch 2 in popularity.

And if the ROG Xbox Ally fails, it may signal to Microsoft executives that there is no more public appetite for Xbox hardware. This would lead to a fate many have been dreading: Microsoft gets out of the console business entirely, leaning on Game Pass and IP licensing as the only way to reliably make money. And regardless of how you feel about Microsoft, the death of the Xbox would mean one less major competitor, and that’s bad news for any gamer who likes quality titles and systems.