Clearly they don’t care about their consoles. This is just an extra option for gamepass, their main selling product. The point of “play anywhere” is “they don’t care from where you play”.
There is no console wars anymore, just services. And those who still think of fighting this war, they are morons.
I guess I have to put my foot in my mouth over a comment I made a month or so back. I had said an XBOX handheld would sell out against the Steam Deck simply due to brand recognition.
This was of course before I thought they’d be dumb enough to make a console twice as expensive aimed at the mass market. If this was targeted at the same price as the Deck, they might have had a chance.
I don’t know anyone that would consider one of these now.
Shit I dont know anyone who can afford this. No one in my work or friend group has a Steam Deck or Switch 2. Nearly 20 people all of us of us have ps5, XsX, or switch 1. 6 have a pc that can run the latest games without chugging. Not even the scalper guy at work has gotten a Switch2 to flip.
The market for Steam Deck is already so small, you would have to undercut it in price or overshoot it in specs by such a rediculous margin (either one) to get mass market adoption. Consoles were BORN FROM being cheaper and “punching above its pricetag” compared to modular PCs. This handheld is neither.
$1000 consoles and $100 games…here we come I guess. I’m so tired of fighting this fight. One of the tenants of capitalism is that you, the consumer, should demand more-for-less. It doesn’t matter that you got a good deal already. It is a consumers duty to demand a product for less, or even free. People have grown complacent and lazy with this duty - misinformation and complacency, and a culture that promotes both “fuck you I got mine” and “overpaying is a flex” has allowed prices to rocket under greedflation.
One of the tenants of capitalism is that you, the consumer, should demand more-for-less
Oh dear, that was never a tenet of capitalism. Capitalism has only one tenet: amass as much capital as possible at all costs. Literally anything goes, including and especially capturing and controlling markets by stifling competition.
It’s a natural byproduct though. Assuming a free enough market, you should have several people all supplying the same good. Some will compete on price, some on quality, and some on overall service.
The problems happen when competition evaporates, either from regulations raising the barrier to entry, acquisitions, or resource scarcity. Capitalism assumes people are greedy and pits them against each other to provide better services to everyone. A lack of competition isn’t “capitalism functioning as intended,” but instead the opposite, it means something is preventing capitalism from working as intended.
You appear to be conflating Capitalism with the concept of free markets. They are wholly different and distinct concepts, regardless of what Capitalism’s propagandists would like everyone to believe.
Capitalism, being an economic dogma that worships private ownership and relentless pursuit and hoarding of wealth, actively incentivizes behavior that destroys free markets: trusts, monopolies, oligopolies, regulatory capture, sabotage, patents, union busting, mergers and acquisitions, financialization, and more, gradually eroding any free market until it no longer meaningfully exists.
The sad thing is that a few dozen people will buy it no matter the price, and will have a thousand dollar piece of e-waste when Microsoft decides to kill it off
It’s locked into the Xbox ecosystem. Even if it can be changed, which I assume they’re going to work really hard to not allow with steamos being so easy, most would simply give up before trying something else
It’s not locked to the Xbox ecosystem; it’s a Windows PC with a better UI for a controller to navigate. And I really don’t see this being any more locked down than Asus’ previous Ally stuff.
It’s just a windows PC in handheld format that has a new Xbox app that turns off a bunch of windows functions that use up perform despite having no benefit for gaming. But it is a windows pc, you can hook it up with a dock, and use it as your daily PC.
This is in line with the other Windows handhelds’ pricing, which are still doing half as well as the Steam Deck despite having to run an interface as awful as desktop Windows.
And the ROG Ally 2023s seem to be at the 650-900 range. So new chip gen combined with pre-pricing for tariffs and those are “reasonable” if you like the rest of the ROG specs. Personally? I think a 120 Hz 1080p display on a handheld is idiotic but if it is your only device there might be an argument. I forget if those support VRR.
But yeah. Definitely feels like another increasingly common MS fail which is becoming increasingly the case as they devote all of their competency toward enabling genocide (friendly reminder that BDS encourages boycotting of MS)
But with the Switch 2 just launching and being the perfect device that will give you a handy while you play? And the Steam Deck still kind of the best all arounder for closer to half the price than not? Really feels like this is being sent out to die.
Did they bother looking at the history of console launches that were above $600?
You know, all those household names like 3DO, Jaguar, and CD-I, that prove how historically there is NOT a big audience for expensive consoles.
Good ol Playstation even learned their lesson with the PS3.
And now in the middle of a global recession, one where people are even turning on Nintendo for price increases - Xbox is releasing their most expensive console ever with no exclusives, and not a single reason to use this new “Xbox” because game pass is available on everything else.
I’m sorry. But whoever is left at Xbox needs to pull their head out of their ass and breath real air.
This move is out of the 90’s with crossbranding that smells of desperation. WHY would you call it so many names? WHY the ROG Xbox Ally? And not the Xbox Ally?
You really just had to slap the corporate partnership with ROG in the name of the product at the front like that? People smell that bullshit ten miles away now, as it basically the equivalent of putting corporate flowers on a devices grave. Like the Verizon Blackberry Storm, or the ATT Nokia NGage.
FFS “XBOX ALLY” is a great name!
They could have even called it the “Xbox ALLY by ROG”
Now it’s going to be another “Xbone” situation because Microsoft can’t unincorporated their brain from making terrible decisions.
The ROG Xbox Ally is an overbranded ununique afterthought of a console designed to milk Xbox nostalgia from people that don’t have the budget or desire for an expensive portable PC.
I wish Vegas took odds over the potential failure of this console, because it’s almost certain how much of a failure this thing is going to be at launch.
Just my 2 cents.
Haters better tell me how many of these they’re planning to buy at launch to scalp.
A Google search preview from the official Barcelona Asus store “Asus by MacMan” has accidentally revealed what many feared: the ROG Xbox Ally X will retail for €899, while the standard model sits at €599.
These European prices translate to eye-watering figures globally, potentially pushing the premium handheld well beyond the $1000 threshold in certain markets.
Now, let’s all calm down. This is based on leaked data.
If I had to guess, Microsoft leaked this themselves so that they could gauge just how much we balked at the price, and then come down to something more reasonable, making the still over-priced unit look like a better deal in the end.
Until we see the actual device for sale at this price, let’s set down the pitchforks for another day.
I’m guessing maybe having the Xbox branding entails some certification fee? Also is the base Z2 supposed to be stronger than the Z1 Extreme? It’ll be rough to compete with older Z1 Extreme handhelds and presumably any of the Z2 family of chips that come with SteamOS
Jesus jumping jehoshaphat, this is absolutely fucking bonkers
For comparison the Windows 11 ROG Ally is $500 (Asus.com)
My guess is that this will be able to play Xbox console games that aren’t on PC like The Darkness. Would explain why we’re seeing other console exclusive titles appear on the Xbox app. (Edit: Nope.avi)
From what I’ve read, it will have the new AMD Ryzen Z2 chipset which could lead to better battery life, also… better grips, impulse triggers, and slightly better RAM.
Migrating the Series to Windows would end horribly. Theoretically there can be a path from xbox OS to windows but it is going to be a pretty large update and will be prone to erroring out. And it also feels like a REAL good way to accidentally jailbreak your own consoles. And people already (rightfully) lose their shit when MS change the dashboard every year to add even more ads and make it even harder to find your god damned games.
I forget what The Leakers are saying but this console generation more or less started in 2020 and we are coming up on the 5th year. Assuming a 7 to 8 year cycle, the XBOX 2 Pi would be coming out as early as Fall of 2027. So massive software/firmware hell combined with support burden versus potentially breaking their lockstep with Sony and trying to pivot more toward the Nintendo “We are your second console” mindset. Except that your “second console” is also your netflix box and your MS word box and how you watch pornhub and so forth. Especially if said “XBOX 2 Pi” is more just branding and HTPCs from existing vendors.
So… Steam Boxes. And those totally weren’t a horrible failure.
I think people underestimate what consumers are actually willing to pay for high end gaming hardware. Their pitch is going to be that it’s a PC with Xbox compatibility. For most gamers looking at this, their competing option would be a gaming laptop.
Or it could be a fat fucking flop cause it’s overpriced and has a stupid fucking name.
You can’t hold a gaming laptop in your hands (and actually use it)
Of course a larger device will cost less/provide better performance. You’re paying a premium for the handheld formfactor. Just like how with a gaming laptop you’re paying a premium vs a 50+ pound desktop.
My comment was in favor of this because of that and gaming laptops are generally more expensive than this despite being less convenient for the primary purpose. A lot of people forget these things are actually quite capable desktop PCs when paired with a dock + monitor.
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Will stick with my Steam Deck thank you very much.
Clearly they don’t care about their consoles. This is just an extra option for gamepass, their main selling product. The point of “play anywhere” is “they don’t care from where you play”.
There is no console wars anymore, just services. And those who still think of fighting this war, they are morons.
Moving exclusively to linux and piracy, thank you capitalism
I’d rather spend that kind of money on an escort
That way I’ll only be fucked once instead of being routinely fucked by the subscription fees
But you get freedom of windows for free.
I guess I have to put my foot in my mouth over a comment I made a month or so back. I had said an XBOX handheld would sell out against the Steam Deck simply due to brand recognition.
This was of course before I thought they’d be dumb enough to make a console twice as expensive aimed at the mass market. If this was targeted at the same price as the Deck, they might have had a chance.
I don’t know anyone that would consider one of these now.
Shit I dont know anyone who can afford this. No one in my work or friend group has a Steam Deck or Switch 2. Nearly 20 people all of us of us have ps5, XsX, or switch 1. 6 have a pc that can run the latest games without chugging. Not even the scalper guy at work has gotten a Switch2 to flip.
The market for Steam Deck is already so small, you would have to undercut it in price or overshoot it in specs by such a rediculous margin (either one) to get mass market adoption. Consoles were BORN FROM being cheaper and “punching above its pricetag” compared to modular PCs. This handheld is neither.
$1000 consoles and $100 games…here we come I guess. I’m so tired of fighting this fight. One of the tenants of capitalism is that you, the consumer, should demand more-for-less. It doesn’t matter that you got a good deal already. It is a consumers duty to demand a product for less, or even free. People have grown complacent and lazy with this duty - misinformation and complacency, and a culture that promotes both “fuck you I got mine” and “overpaying is a flex” has allowed prices to rocket under greedflation.
Urgh that must be gross having a scalper guy at work
Oh dear, that was never a tenet of capitalism. Capitalism has only one tenet: amass as much capital as possible at all costs. Literally anything goes, including and especially capturing and controlling markets by stifling competition.
It’s a natural byproduct though. Assuming a free enough market, you should have several people all supplying the same good. Some will compete on price, some on quality, and some on overall service.
The problems happen when competition evaporates, either from regulations raising the barrier to entry, acquisitions, or resource scarcity. Capitalism assumes people are greedy and pits them against each other to provide better services to everyone. A lack of competition isn’t “capitalism functioning as intended,” but instead the opposite, it means something is preventing capitalism from working as intended.
You appear to be conflating Capitalism with the concept of free markets. They are wholly different and distinct concepts, regardless of what Capitalism’s propagandists would like everyone to believe.
Capitalism, being an economic dogma that worships private ownership and relentless pursuit and hoarding of wealth, actively incentivizes behavior that destroys free markets: trusts, monopolies, oligopolies, regulatory capture, sabotage, patents, union busting, mergers and acquisitions, financialization, and more, gradually eroding any free market until it no longer meaningfully exists.
The sad thing is that a few dozen people will buy it no matter the price, and will have a thousand dollar piece of e-waste when Microsoft decides to kill it off
A few dozen people don’t make a product viable, tens or hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people do.
It’s just a computer. Microsoft can’t kill it off (thankfully)
It’s locked into the Xbox ecosystem. Even if it can be changed, which I assume they’re going to work really hard to not allow with steamos being so easy, most would simply give up before trying something else
It’s not locked to the Xbox ecosystem; it’s a Windows PC with a better UI for a controller to navigate. And I really don’t see this being any more locked down than Asus’ previous Ally stuff.
It’s just a windows PC in handheld format that has a new Xbox app that turns off a bunch of windows functions that use up perform despite having no benefit for gaming. But it is a windows pc, you can hook it up with a dock, and use it as your daily PC.
This is in line with the other Windows handhelds’ pricing, which are still doing half as well as the Steam Deck despite having to run an interface as awful as desktop Windows.
800-1200 for a low end “gaming laptop” isn’t super out of the realm.
Figuring out (meaningful) specs on the Z2s is… hard but https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/amds-baffling-new-ryzen-z2-apus-for-handheld-gaming-pcs-include-a-premium-ai-model-with-an-npu-and-seemingly-the-ancient-chip-from-valves-steam-deck/ seems to be the best comparison out there and it sounds like it is within the realm of the Steam Deck plus AI Magic NPU. Which is potentially incredibly good in a handheld for upscaling/framegen purposes if you roll that way (I don’t care if you do or don’t).
And the ROG Ally 2023s seem to be at the 650-900 range. So new chip gen combined with pre-pricing for tariffs and those are “reasonable” if you like the rest of the ROG specs. Personally? I think a 120 Hz 1080p display on a handheld is idiotic but if it is your only device there might be an argument. I forget if those support VRR.
But yeah. Definitely feels like another increasingly common MS fail which is becoming increasingly the case as they devote all of their competency toward enabling genocide (friendly reminder that BDS encourages boycotting of MS)
But with the Switch 2 just launching and being the perfect device that will give you a handy while you play? And the Steam Deck still kind of the best all arounder for closer to half the price than not? Really feels like this is being sent out to die.
RIP Xbox.
Did they bother looking at the history of console launches that were above $600?
You know, all those household names like 3DO, Jaguar, and CD-I, that prove how historically there is NOT a big audience for expensive consoles.
Good ol Playstation even learned their lesson with the PS3.
And now in the middle of a global recession, one where people are even turning on Nintendo for price increases - Xbox is releasing their most expensive console ever with no exclusives, and not a single reason to use this new “Xbox” because game pass is available on everything else.
I’m sorry. But whoever is left at Xbox needs to pull their head out of their ass and breath real air.
This move is out of the 90’s with crossbranding that smells of desperation. WHY would you call it so many names? WHY the ROG Xbox Ally? And not the Xbox Ally?
You really just had to slap the corporate partnership with ROG in the name of the product at the front like that? People smell that bullshit ten miles away now, as it basically the equivalent of putting corporate flowers on a devices grave. Like the Verizon Blackberry Storm, or the ATT Nokia NGage.
FFS “XBOX ALLY” is a great name! They could have even called it the “Xbox ALLY by ROG”
Now it’s going to be another “Xbone” situation because Microsoft can’t unincorporated their brain from making terrible decisions.
The ROG Xbox Ally is an overbranded ununique afterthought of a console designed to milk Xbox nostalgia from people that don’t have the budget or desire for an expensive portable PC.
I wish Vegas took odds over the potential failure of this console, because it’s almost certain how much of a failure this thing is going to be at launch.
Just my 2 cents. Haters better tell me how many of these they’re planning to buy at launch to scalp.
lol
lmao even
roflmao even
roflcopter even
roflwaffle perchance
Now, let’s all calm down. This is based on leaked data.
If I had to guess, Microsoft leaked this themselves so that they could gauge just how much we balked at the price, and then come down to something more reasonable, making the still over-priced unit look like a better deal in the end.
Until we see the actual device for sale at this price, let’s set down the pitchforks for another day.
I’m guessing maybe having the Xbox branding entails some certification fee? Also is the base Z2 supposed to be stronger than the Z1 Extreme? It’ll be rough to compete with older Z1 Extreme handhelds and presumably any of the Z2 family of chips that come with SteamOS
Jesus jumping jehoshaphat, this is absolutely fucking bonkers
For comparison the Windows 11 ROG Ally is $500 (Asus.com)
My guess is that this will be able to play Xbox console games that aren’t on PC like The Darkness. Would explain why we’re seeing other console exclusive titles appear on the Xbox app.(Edit: Nope.avi)They’ve already confirmed that no, it’s just running Windows Game Pass.
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2025/06/no-the-rog-xbox-ally-handheld-doesnt-play-native-console-games
What the shit? Are the specs better than the ROG Ally or something…??
From what I’ve read, it will have the new AMD Ryzen Z2 chipset which could lead to better battery life, also… better grips, impulse triggers, and slightly better RAM.
Shit. Might as well charge $2 then. Clearly this thing ain’t messing around
I wonder if / when they’ll adapt their new stripped down windows to the existing Xbox generation
All signs are that is the “next xbox”
Migrating the Series to Windows would end horribly. Theoretically there can be a path from xbox OS to windows but it is going to be a pretty large update and will be prone to erroring out. And it also feels like a REAL good way to accidentally jailbreak your own consoles. And people already (rightfully) lose their shit when MS change the dashboard every year to add even more ads and make it even harder to find your god damned games.
I forget what The Leakers are saying but this console generation more or less started in 2020 and we are coming up on the 5th year. Assuming a 7 to 8 year cycle, the XBOX 2 Pi would be coming out as early as Fall of 2027. So massive software/firmware hell combined with support burden versus potentially breaking their lockstep with Sony and trying to pivot more toward the Nintendo “We are your second console” mindset. Except that your “second console” is also your netflix box and your MS word box and how you watch pornhub and so forth. Especially if said “XBOX 2 Pi” is more just branding and HTPCs from existing vendors.
So… Steam Boxes. And those totally weren’t a horrible failure.
€599 and €899
No thank you. Nope. No chance.
I think people underestimate what consumers are actually willing to pay for high end gaming hardware. Their pitch is going to be that it’s a PC with Xbox compatibility. For most gamers looking at this, their competing option would be a gaming laptop.
Or it could be a fat fucking flop cause it’s overpriced and has a stupid fucking name.
But it isn’t a PC with Xbox compat.
It’s just a portable PC with Windows Gamepass and some stuff toggled to make it easier to navigate using a controller.
It already existed, now it’s just for an Xbox logo for an extra $200.
Lol “high end”…
How much does a gaming laptop cost again? Because this is that essentially.
You can’t hold a gaming laptop in your hands (and actually use it)
Of course a larger device will cost less/provide better performance. You’re paying a premium for the handheld formfactor. Just like how with a gaming laptop you’re paying a premium vs a 50+ pound desktop.
My comment was in favor of this because of that and gaming laptops are generally more expensive than this despite being less convenient for the primary purpose. A lot of people forget these things are actually quite capable desktop PCs when paired with a dock + monitor.