The steep price of the Xbox ROG Ally X hasn't held back the handheld, it seems. In a recent investor presentation, hardware manufactuer Asus revealed that demand for its higher-end model was "exceeding expectations" amid an "extremely positive" response from fans.
The firm originally anticipated income of around $96 million to $160 million for the Ally range this financial quarter, but now expects to generated 130 to $160 million in future quarters, something it said had left stock of the ROG Ally X "in short supply."
"As many of you know, we introduced the first generation ROG Ally 2-3 years ago as a market pioneer, over the past couple of years this new category, especially, the Windows ecosystem has proven itself highly successful," Asus said, responding to a query about the handheld system.
"We believe that we have achieved our original goals of premium positioning, creating a new growth driver in our gaming segment," Asus continued. "That's why we released our third-generation ROG Ally last month. It featured deeper collaboration with Xbox. Since its launch, we see the market response for it has been extremely positive, particularly, there has been an appetite for the premium higher-end models, exceeding our expectations.
"These high-ended variants are currently in short supply. We are working closely with key component suppliers to ramp up production and fill the demand gap that exists. Our goal with the ROG Ally is for it to remain a core pillar within the ASUS gaming portfolio."
We thought the Asus ROG Ally X was 'Amazing,' awarding it 9/10 and writing in our review: "From the easy-to-use Xbox Full Screen Experience to the excellent performance from the AMD Z2 Extreme, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is easily the best handheld gaming PC available right now."
"At $999, not only is it more expensive than the $799 ROG Ally X, but it’s twice the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 or the Steam Deck," IGN wrote at the time. "Everything is getting more expensive lately, and while the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is certainly guilty of this — it’s actually pretty reasonably priced compared to other similar devices that’ve launched in the last year," comparing it favorably to the Lenovo Legion Go 2 and MSI Claw A8.
As for Microsoft's first-party handheld? While Microsoft's gaming boss Phil Spencer has previously confirmed his interest in such a device, subsequent reports have suggested the idea has been sidelined. We recently asked Jason Ronald, Microsoft's vice president of Xbox gaming devices and ecosystem, about Microsoft's internal plans to make a first-party Xbox handheld.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
