Xbox Official Xbox thread

[The Clark]

Are people really saying near 1k for this thing? Would that not make it dead on arrival?

That seems like about what these things cost. I don't know about DOA, but it will probably be a niche thing, just like the current handhelds.

 

[Sycho Sid]

That seems like about what these things cost. I don't know about DOA, but it will probably be a niche thing, just like the current handhelds.

Damn, I never actually looked at these I guess. I figured they were around steam deck prices, but I suppose they are more powerful.

 

[The Clark]

Damn, I never actually looked at these I guess. I figured they were around steam deck prices, but I suppose they are more powerful.

There are different price points/models.That was literally the first one that came up when I searched, though. I also saw a 2023 model that was $750. But they're not cheap. That's why I didn't get it when people were so surprised the Switch 2 is $450.

 

[KaNesDeath]

Damn, I never actually looked at these I guess. I figured they were around steam deck prices, but I suppose they are more powerful.

Switch and Steam Deck showed a market exists. An if Nvidia/AMD dont come back to reality on GPU prices this will only help stimulate handheld and console sales in the coming ten years.

 

[method115]

Switch and Steam Deck showed a market exists. An if Nvidia/AMD dont come back to reality on GPU prices this will only help stimulate handheld and console sales in the coming ten years.

Is there any hope for Nvidia at this point? They are all in on AI and I don't think they could even begin to care about gaming anymore.

 

[KaNesDeath]

Is there any hope for Nvidia at this point?

Nope. Only company that can force their prices down is AMD and they are just copying Nvidias retail pricing structure

 

[Madmick]

I'd really only take stats from AMD or Asus now unless someone is dying to speculate for fun (more power to em). Asus may or may not undervolt the SoC, who knows. I'm pretty sure the top feedback Ally PMs would have got would be longer battery life, not more power.

That's the issue. Techpowerup's own quote for TDP matches the "default TDP" listed by AMD, but as I've said, this doesn't make sense because without a fabrication improvement, and there doesn't appear to be one, that 15W TDP won't yield the higher clocks that would seem to be the whole point of an "Aerith Plus" chip (neither AMD nor ASUS have issued any indication of GPU clocks on the processor sheets).

But maybe Microsoft doesn't mind putting out a product at a higher price than the Steam Deck with even inferior GPU-side performance despite launching 3 1/2 years later. Maybe they figure casual buyers won't care. I just have to believe they realize in the age of the internet that information reaches the least tech-savvy prospective customers.

Are people really saying near 1k for this thing? Would that not make it dead on arrival?

That seems like about what these things cost. I don't know about DOA, but it will probably be a niche thing, just like the current handhelds.

I'm skeptical they will charge $900+ as some are speculating.

It seems more likely the base version will be around $499, and the higher end version will be around $799 (same launch MSRPs as previous Ally ROG devices respective to tier).

Maybe they could be even lower. I suppose that depends on how heavily Microsoft is willing to subsidize ASUS as part of their deal for the Xbox branding depending on how much more software Microsoft anticipated they could move with their projected estimated increase in sales corresponding to a decrease in price.

 

[avenue94]

I'm skeptical they will charge $900+ as some are speculating.

It seems more likely the base version will be around $499, and the higher end version will be around $799 (same launch MSRPs as previous Ally ROG devices respective to tier).

You're comparing apples and oranges. ROG Ally X is the closest comp for the top SKU, and that's $899. On top of that Xbox Ally X has a more expensive chip, so even if it's offset by higher volume and later life cycle fab costs, it's a wash at best. Plus haptic triggers, and RAM and storage pricing hasn't been great this year.

The tariffs are obviously the wild card, but even if chips are exempt, it's still going to get nailed on panels, plus again Asus has objectively performed the worse at ODM sourcing this year. Unless Microsoft kicks in money, it's really hard to see this model coming in under $899.

Maybe they could be even lower. I suppose that depends on how heavily Microsoft is willing to subsidize ASUS as part of their deal for the Xbox branding depending on how much more software Microsoft anticipated they could move with their projected estimated increase in sales corresponding to a decrease in price.

Keep in mind that some of the strongest markets for Rog Ally were places where Xbox really struggles. So I wouldn't be surprised if the forecasts are lower than people expect, because Xbox doesn't think it can break into a Japan, for example.

And given the Ally is almost exclusively a second or third device, Xbox isn't really growing video game sales or users significantly here. It'll be more of a first attempt, I wouldn't expect a really great Xbox handheld for a couple more iterations.

 

[Madmick]

You're comparing apples and oranges. ROG Ally X is the closest comp for the top SKU, and that's $899.

Incorrect. I'm not comparing apples and oranges.

I compared the base version to the Steam Deck since they have roughly analogous chips (despite that the ROG's APU will be newer and stronger on the CPU side). I compared the higher-end unit to the launch MSRP for the ROG Ally X 2024 which launched at a $799 MSRP-- they only later raised the price, but that unit doesn't enjoy Microsoft partnering which presumably will enable ASUS to price this unit lower.

Otherwise, I'm not sure what ASUS gets out the deal. It's not as if Microsoft branding affords enticement to customers by access to content which the other units don't already provide. If anything, clearly, Steam is more dominant in the PC space, so I have to believe Microsoft is bringing capital to the table to sweeten the deal.

The tariffs are obviously the wild card, but even if chips are exempt, it's still going to get nailed on panels, plus again Asus has objectively performed the worse at ODM sourcing this year. Unless Microsoft kicks in money, it's really hard to see this model coming in under $899.

If it isn't clear, that's precisely what I'm anticipating.

 

[avenue94]

I compared the base version to the Steam Deck since they have roughly analogous chips (despite that the ROG's APU will be newer and stronger on the CPU side).

I didn't mention this at all since it's likely just there to hit a flashy price point, same as the Steam Deck.

I compared the higher-end unit to the launch MSRP for the ROG Ally X 2024 which launched at a $799 MSRP-- they only later raised the price, but that unit doesn't enjoy Microsoft partnering which presumably will enable ASUS to price this unit lower.

Which is apples and oranges. The primary determinate of price here is manufacturing costs. You don't compare pre-tariff costs and pricing to post-tariffs, you go post-tariff to post-tariff. Asus doesn't have a magical time machine that let's them manufacture at pre-tariff prices.

I'm not quite certain that Microsoft will subsidize the hardware costs. For reference, Lenovo reached out to Valve on their partnership, not the other way around. For this one, not sure who reached out first, I don't think it was an open ask to OEMs.

Otherwise, I'm not sure what ASUS gets out the deal.

They get brand cache that exceeds ROG (which is currently the best you'll find in PC), but more importantly Microsoft's focus in improving the software experience.

f anything, clearly, Steam is more dominant in the PC space, so I have to believe Microsoft is bringing capital to the table to sweeten the deal.

One would think, but Microsoft is uncommitted on hardware or really anything consumer. We'll see what happens, I wouldn't bet on it either way.

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

Will you be able to use mods on the Xbox ROG Ally?

I'm considering buying a device because I miss playing on PC and being able to use mods and codes.

It's a sore spot. I'd like a Steam Deck but I have friends on Xbox Game Pass. I'd like an Ally but they're expensive, plus I'd like to access my old Steam catalogue...

 

[Madmick]

Will you be able to use mods on the Xbox ROG Ally?

I'm considering buying a device because I miss playing on PC and being able to use mods and codes.

It's a sore spot. I'd like a Steam Deck but I have friends on Xbox Game Pass. I'd like an Ally but they're expensive, plus I'd like to access my old Steam catalogue...

Assuming you use the device as intended with the Xbox store, I wouldn't recommend it for that. Modding on Xbox for PC is piss poor.

 

[treelo]

How will this work in reality when something from the Xbox store is costing £59.99 to buy and steam have it on sale for £4.99(just a figure plucked out the sky, dont go all autistic on me)

Same with Epic or GOG or any other app store. Are they just going to allow other stores to sell games regardless or put some sort of restrictions on the games they can sell, i use CDKEYS a lot for PC gaming, much more so than steam these days and just redeem the game on steam, are you going to be able to do that on their new PC, oops, i meant console

It's going to be interesting and potentially game changing for the gaming scene and for exclusives, maybe with xbox not having any anymore they have realised it better to sell to a wider audience, surely someone has considered other stores selling their games a lot cheaper than they do?

 

[The Clark]

Did I miss an announcement? I did some searching, and all I found were stories about this being vaguely discussed back in March.

 

[method115]

Did I miss an announcement? I did some searching, and all I found were stories about this being vaguely discussed back in March.

This is what he's talking about. It sounds like that's what they are talking about but I don't know. MS plays a lot of word games and I don't feel like trying to breakdown exactly what they mean.

 

[Madmick]

How will this work in reality when something from the Xbox store is costing £59.99 to buy and steam have it on sale for £4.99(just a figure plucked out the sky, dont go all autistic on me)

Same with Epic or GOG or any other app store. Are they just going to allow other stores to sell games regardless or put some sort of restrictions on the games they can sell, i use CDKEYS a lot for PC gaming, much more so than steam these days and just redeem the game on steam, are you going to be able to do that on their new PC, oops, i meant console

It's going to be interesting and potentially game changing for the gaming scene and for exclusives, maybe with xbox not having any anymore they have realised it better to sell to a wider audience, surely someone has considered other stores selling their games a lot cheaper than they do?

This is how Microsoft is combining Windows and Xbox for handheld PCs

The full-screen Xbox experience is here

www.theverge.com

It all starts by booting directly into a new Xbox full-screen experience on these ROG Xbox Ally devices that focuses on the Xbox app and Game Bar, alongside being a launcher for all your PC games — yes even Steam ones...

The Xbox full-screen experience is very much the compact mode of the Xbox app taking full control of the ROG Xbox Ally devices, instead of the familiar Windows desktop and taskbar. “When the player boots into the full-screen experience there is a whole bunch of Windows stuff that doesn’t get loaded,” says Beaumont. “We’re not loading the desktop wallpaper, the taskbar, or a bunch of processes that are really designed around productivity scenarios for Windows”...

You can still exit this full-screen mode and launch the full version of the Windows desktop, but by default it will by hidden away. “We’ve reduced many notifications and pop-ups, and we will continue to listen to feedback from players to make continued improvements,” says Sones.

They could be playing a word games, where "managing" your library doesn't include the capability to launch games in the native, fullscreen 'console' mode itself, but it sounds like you will be able to play at least Steam, EA, and Battle.net games directly from there. They said "major" launchers, but I haven't seen even Epic confirmed, and considering Epic's close ties with Playstation, I suspect that may not be functional in the primary fullscreen "console" OS.

Additionally, during startup, they have apparently made it very easy to simply boot into a traditional 'Windows' mode instead with the click of a button. So it's even easier than a Steam Deck to achieve this secondary boot option. At least from there, for the more tech-savvy, you could install and manage big box modes yourself for Epic, GOG, or other launchers potentially not included in the 'console' mode so that they still integrate well with a handheld, dual-analog joystick interface.

They definitely aren't making money off the hardware. ASUS is gonna eat that. So to answer your question, I don't really know what the hell their strategy is, anymore. Because, yeah, unless there is a severe performance penalty playing from third-party launchers on the device, why wouldn't you just continue buying games on Steam (the best) or elsewhere (whatever is cheapest) like you would with a normal PC?

As best as I can figure, they are banking on integrating as many gamers as they can into their OS schemes: Game Bar, and all its ancillary gaming tools (Social monitor where you can see friends' activities, Text Chat, Party Chat, Sound Mixer, Gallery & Screenshot-sharing, Resource Manager including the fps counter, etc). So they're trying to win over PC gamers through that backdoor. Because you have to make yourself an Xbox account and have Xbox friends to use all that.

But of course fuck that. Xbox party chat & text chat fucking sucks. It sucks as much donkey dick as a Mexican midget at a Tijuana diveshow. It couldn't suck harder if it tried. The voice comm stability and quality are terrible. Sharing screenshots is not intuitive, and it's annoying as hell fighing the privacy settings when all you want to do is share one screenshot, for example, but not make your entire gallery open to be browsed by any friend. Text chat? Half the time you can't even see multimedia sent to you by a friend unless you pick up your phone (viewing the image is nonfunctional on PC). The fps counter is nice, but it's inferior to resources built into NVIDIA software by miles.

Game Bar is in the running for the shittiest software in gaming. It is that bad. Personally, I'd go to the trouble of customizing the secondary full-Windows boot just to have Discord alone. Discord is GOATed.

On top of all this, the very recent revelation that games are apparently running smoother on Linux-based handhelds with Valve's ProtonOS layer even if they were natively built for Windows has made Windows-based handhelds a lot less attractive. Even if Microsoft subsidizes ASUS to sell this thing at a lower price point this revelation dents the appeal on a bang-for-your-buck criterion to the already highly niche portion of the market that weighs such a consideration.

TL/DR I have no idea what Microsoft is doing, anymore.

 

[Strychnine]

This is how Microsoft is combining Windows and Xbox for handheld PCs

The full-screen Xbox experience is here

www.theverge.com

They could be playing a word games, where "managing" your library doesn't include the capability to launch games in the native, fullscreen mode itself, but it sounds like you will be able to play at least Steam, EA, and Battle.net games directly from there. They said "major" launchers, but I haven't seen even Epic confirmed, and considering Epic's close ties with Playstation, I suspect that may not be functional in the primary fullscreen "console" OS.

Additionally, during startup, they have apparently made it very easy to simply boot into a full version of OS instead with the click of a button. So it's even easier than a Steam Deck to achieve this secondary boot option. At least from there, for the more tech-savvy, you could install and manage "big box" modes yourself for Epic, GOG, or other launchers potentially not included in the default mode that will integrate well with a handheld, dual-analog joystick interface.

They definitely aren't making money off the hardware. ASUS is gonna eat that. So to answer your question, I don't really know what the hell their strategy is, anymore. Because, yeah, unless there is a severe performance penalty playing from third-party launchers on the device, why wouldn't you just continue buying games on Steam (the best) or elsewhere (whatever is cheapest) like you would with a normal PC?

As best as I can figure, they are banking on integrating as many gamers as they can into their OS schemes: Game Bar, and all the ancillary gaming software (Social monitor where you can see friends' activities, Text Chat, Party Chat, Sound Mixer, Gallery & Screenshot-sharing, Resource Manager including the fps counter, etc). So they're trying to win over PC gamers through that backdoor. Because you have to make yourself an Xbox account and have Xbox friends to use all that.

But of course fuck that. Xbox party chat & text chat fucking sucks. It sucks as much donkey dick as a Mexican midget at a Tijuana diveshow. It couldn't suck harder if it tried. The voice comm stability and quality are terrible. Sharing screenshots is not intuitive, and it's annoying as hell fighing the privacy settings when all you want to do is share one screenshot, for example, but not make your entire gallery open to be browsed by any friend. Text chat? Half the time you can't even see multimedia someone sent to you by a friend unless you pick up your phone (viewing is nonfunctional on PC). The fps counter is nice, but it's inferior to resources built into NVIDIA software by miles.

Game Bar is in the running for the shittiest software in gaming. It is that bad. Personally, I'd go to the trouble of customizing the secondary full-Windows boot just to have Discord alone. Discord is GOATed.

On top of all this, the very recent revelation that games are apparently running smoother on Linux-based handhelds with Valve's ProtonOS layer even if they were natively built for Windows has made Windows-based handhelds a lot less attractive. Even if Microsoft subsidizes ASUS to sell this thing at a lower price point this revelation dents the appeal on a bang-for-your-buck criterion to the already highly niche portion of the market that weighs such a consideration.

TL/DR I have no idea what Microsoft is doing, anymore.

 

[Madmick]

 

[Strychnine]

I can't see it 'Mick.

 

[Madmick]

I can't see it 'Mick.

What, the GIF? That's what I get for using anything other than Giphy. I wish we had a tool to just search GIPHY for embeds inline with one our toolbuttons (exactly like the aforementioned God software Discord has...one of a million other things it does that Xbox LameBar can't).

*Edit* Well, meh, Giphy doesn't have the same GIF with the wording from the scene I wanted. It was just the Super Troopers GIF about being pulled over, can't pull over any farther. Point is I've "trusted their process" more than almost anyone, and even the strategy that made sense to me wasn't winning. Can't trust it any more than I did. I see no process at all, anymore.

Because one thing I sure as hell never believed in was dissolving exclusivity completely to where you put your games on competing consoles. PC & mobile, okay, but the other consoles? What's the point of your console, then? You're accepting a demotion to software developer. You're neither a hardware product with a unique identity nor managing a software-controlling marketplace. You're just a developer.