Despite stock rapidly selling out worldwide, the response to Microsoft’s prices for the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X has been mixed. The former retails for $599.999 while the latter costs $999.99 – an expensive proposition, regardless of which one players go for.
Interestingly, Microsoft and Asus were allegedly looking to subsidize pricing, according to XboxEra’s Jon Clarke during Gamescom last month (which is why prices weren’t announced alongside the release date). Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson corroborated that this was reportedly the plan “at the time,” but “they obviously couldn’t do it for whatever reason.”
It’s yet another black mark against Microsoft, which recently increased prices for all Xbox Series X/S models in the United States (head here for more details). Whether this impacts the long-term success of the handheld remains to be seen, but for now, the sales response is positive.
The ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X launch on October 16th in 38 countries, with more to be added later. Stay tuned in the meantime for updates.