Microsoft explains the high cost of ASUS ROG Xbox Ally |
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Last week, ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X, portable hybrids of PC and Xbox, hit stores. The media greeted both new products with very mixed emotions. In addition to technical shortcomings, journalists did not like the high cost of the devices: the Ally and Ally X are selling for $599 and $999, respectively. Some considered such an unapproachable price tag to be a whim of Microsoft. But they were wrong. In a conversation with Variety, Xbox President Sarah Bond explained the high cost of the ?portables.? As it turned out, the company was simply following ASUS's recommendations: We thought, how can we give people more choice? Actually, it's all ASUS, it's their hardware. The prices are dictated by their understanding of the market, the feature set, and what users need. At the same time, the head of Xbox notes that in September, both ROG Xbox Ally models sold out shortly after pre-orders opened. In other words, the target audience was not put off by the price. According to Bond, Microsoft wants users to be able to play their favorite titles anywhere. That's why the corporation joined forces with ASUS and started working on a hybrid PC. Convenience and innovation were the companies' priorities during the production of Xbox Ally. Meanwhile, the Windows team worked on the software. The businessman assured journalists that the corporation has everything under control. There are still many innovations ahead, including further optimization of the gaming process, expansion of compatibility programs with portable devices, provision of additional benefits and improvements, as well as a number of other features and additions that we intend to offer users, and, of course, expansion of the selection of games. Sarah Bond also noted that although the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally is by no means an internal Microsoft development, it is still ?Xbox through and through.? Critics are not so sure: some of them point out that the device is just a portable PC with a nice shell on top of Windows 11. |
