ROG Xbox Ally has a bold price tag, an identity crisis, and a market that won’t forgive mediocrity.
ASUS and Xbox just threw a price bomb into the handheld game market. While the ROG Xbox Ally is their newest handheld system, it comes with a price that feels more like a punch in the gut than a welcome mat. It’s already strange that the basic model costs €599.
But the high-end Ally X costs €899? That’s no longer money for a handheld; that’s money for a game laptop. And since the U.S. ROG Xbox Ally prices are likely to be around $600 to $900, it’s clear that this device is all about being high-end.
The Ally can be pre-ordered starting on August 20, which is a good day for Xbox because that’s when their big Gamescom gathering starts. That’s smart timing—make the pitch, show off the goods, and let the customers come in. The system will even be playable at the event, with Hollow Knight: Silksong being the main game shown.
That being said, as much as we love Silksong, a 2D Metroidvania doesn’t exactly scream “Look at this awesome hardware!” No one is impressed when you bring a Ferrari to the food store. It does the job, but no one is impressed. They should really use Gears of War, Outer Worlds 2, or something else that can really melt metal if they want to make a difference.
Because if you charge $900, the experience you give should be worth that much.
That’s really the heart of the matter: how people see value. When ROG Xbox Ally costs €899, it’s almost to the point where people start to ask, “Why don’t I just buy a gaming laptop instead?” In the U.S., a straight cash exchange puts it over the psychological $1,000 mark.
That’s hard to sell, especially since the Steam Deck is already out there for less money and has a pretty good track record. That price tag needs to be earned by ASUS and Xbox if they don’t want to run straight into a web of hate. And that doesn’t just mean one cool video of how to play. It means packages, extras, and adding value.
It would not only be smart to get a free year of Game Pass Ultimate, but it’s almost necessary. It fits with Microsoft’s own ecosystem push, but more importantly, it’s the kind of nice thing that makes people who aren’t sure about something stop and think, “Okay, maybe I’ll bite.”
It’s not just a fight of specs, that’s why. People in this market have lost trust before, so there is a war going on for it. The market for small PCs is full of great ideas, but they don’t always work together. Performance hiccups, thermal throttling, and features that are hard to use are all things that gamers remember, and they never forget how much it cost.
To be fair to ASUS, the first thoughts from Summer Game Fest do show some promise. Gears of War was said to run smoothly on one unit at 1080p and 60 FPS. But one controlled demo in perfect conditions isn’t enough to make a strong case.
You need to be consistent. You need to be dependable. You need to prove that this isn’t just a one-off—that it’s a real, flexible machine that can compete with the Steam Deck, the Ayaneo line, and even some cheap game laptops.
There’s no doubt that the time of the reveal is planned. If they tie pre-orders to Gamescom, it means they want to ride a wave of excitement. They might be able to pull this off if their demos on the show floor go well and if the media covers them well.
But they’re not sure what to do. Because you can be sure that your feed will be full of “Xbox fumbled again” memes before the end of the day if something does go wrong, like poor performance, UI bugs, or battery problems.
This play has a lot of risk. And you only get one chance in a market full of angry, price-conscious, and deeply skeptical gamers. Either the ROG Xbox Ally turns out to be the unexpected hero that saves Xbox and makes ASUS a legitimate player in the handheld game market, or it just turns out to be another over-the-top gadget that no one wanted and even fewer people can afford.
