Sales of the Xbox ROG Ally X have exceeded Asus’s expectations, as production ramps up to meet demand.
The Microsoft and Asus handheld collaboration was released last month, and while its tech is impressive it’s been criticised for its high price – the premium model is £799, while the basic model is £499.
This doesn’t appear to be a deterrent, however, as even the more expensive model is currently in short supply.
Responding to a question during its latest investor call (thanks Windows Central), Asus said: “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.
“We believe that we have achieved our original goals of premium positioning, creating a new growth driver in our gaming segment. 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.”
The Xbox ROG Ally X is essentially a handheld gaming PC to rival the Steam Deck, though as per Microsoft’s advertising it’s also ‘an Xbox’. Eurogamer’s Tom Orry was impressed by the machine, noting: “It’s not a true Xbox handheld console, but for a lot of people it’s probably a better, more versatile device.”
Alex Donaldson, meanwhile, was left pining for the old days of Xbox and its ecosystem.
And while the Xbox handheld rivals the Steam Deck, Valve has since announced its Steam Machine console – and even Xbox boss Phil Spencer is a fan.
