Xbox president Sarah Bond explains why the new ROG Ally and Ally X handhelds cost so much, and who actually decided the price tags.
The ROG Xbox Ally handhelds just launched this week, and they’ve already become one of the most talked-about Xbox products in years, not just for what they can do, but how much they cost.
Built in partnership between ASUS and Xbox, the Ally and Ally X bring full-fledged Windows gaming into a portable form, with high-end AMD chips, 120Hz displays, and Xbox-focused features like Game Pass, Remote Play, and a custom Xbox full-screen experience.
But while the reviews have been largely positive, the biggest talking point has been the price. The Ally starts at $599, and the Ally X jumps all the way to $999, making it one of the priciest handhelds on the market. Many fans say that while the tech looks great, the price tag just doesn’t match what most players expect from a “portable Xbox.”
Now, Xbox president Sarah Bond has explained why the handhelds cost as much as they do, and according to her, Xbox didn’t actually set those prices at all.
Sarah Bond Comments On ROG Xbox Ally Pricing
Speaking with Variety, Bond shared that the pricing decisions for the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X were made “with guidance” by ASUS, which handled manufacturing and positioned the two models based on hardware upgrades and market data.
Xbox’s role, she said, was focused on design collaboration and integrating the new Xbox-optimized software experience, not determining how much the device would cost.
“We looked at, how do we create multiple options for people? And it really was Asus, because this is their hardware,” Bond said, talking about the pricing. “That is all of their insight into the market, into the feature set, into what people want, to determine the ultimate prices of the devices.”
Bond also mentioned that the team wanted to get the ergonomics right first, making sure the handheld felt comfortable for long play sessions, before layering in a Windows experience designed for controllers and touch. The idea, she explained, was to create a Windows handheld that actually feels built for gaming, rather than a PC squeezed into a smaller frame.
“We took everything we knew about what it took to make a controller, what it actually feels like for things to work in a variety of hand sizes, what it feels like to play for three hours and worked on the ergonomics of the device to make it super, super comfortable,” Bond said.
“We partnered with the Windows team to think about the Windows experience on the device and to make sure it was optimized. There isn’t a keyboard on this. We had to optimize it for controller and touch all the way through the UE, all the way through jumping into your games. So Windows is actually built to run on a handheld and on this form factor and on something that is built especially for a gaming.”
In other news, Xbox recently announced a major price increase for its Game Pass subscription, raising the top-tier Ultimate plan from $19.99 to $29.99 per month in many regions.
What do you think? Is the ROG Xbox Ally X fairly priced for what it offers, or did Xbox and ASUS push it too far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
