So, you've probably seen the news. MS enter the handheld arena (sort of) with a new, more ergonomic pair of Xbox branded ROG Allys based on the Z2 architecture.
Most notably from the announcement was that they will not be running full fat Windows, but a gaming focused version of it, promising enhanced performance and better operability. I would believe that as I think ArmoryCrate is very good on the Ally, even now. So a version of that over a resource optimised W11 would really be the best of all worlds. Steam OS is fine, but all the gaming stores, no hassle with DRM supported is interesting.
The hardware looks similar, just slightly better shaped. Not sure there's a clear price yet, but I can't see it being cheap, even for the cut down model. Maybe 800 quid and 500 quid? I'll be interested to see what it does to the price of the existing Ally X, as that could end up a very keenly priced bit of kit.
Anyway, not sure this would really change anyone's mind here about PC handhelds in general if they're already on board? Or would it? Especially if you're a SeriesX owner or already paying for Gamepass…
I shouldn't want it, but I do…I'm not sure those handles look better than what the first ROG Ally had as far as ergonomics go though
800 quid for a handheld sounds like an absolutely wild price point.
As someone who’s more invested in the Xbox ecosystem that most, I’m honestly very happy using XBplay on the Steam Deck to stream Game Pass titles, it’s a perfectly good solution for me. So I’m not exactly champing at the bit for this. But it’s interesting in terms of confirming that the next-gen Xbox is almost certainly going to be some sort of Windows box.
I'm not a specs guy but can't the top Ally model play more games than a Steam Deck too
You can see the exciting teraflops comparison in the other thread. Yes, an Ally is a lot more powerful than a Steam Deck.
The argument before us that essentially the Allys were PCs. So you could also put Office on them and use them as a desktop if you fancied it. That is now blurred if these machines are actual 100% gaming machines with a cut down OS. 800 is a guess, if MS are involved perhaps there'll be a hardware subsidy.
Also XBPlay is a good idea in practice, but if you're out and about and in hotels etc, having the games locally is a benefit.
This might confirm that the next gen of Xbox is simply devices, portable or desktop based, with the new gaming focused OS.
Releasing this is an interesting move by Microsoft, and potentially a very clever one. I reckon handheld PCs might be the next big thing. The Steam Deck pushed them into the minds of gamers like ourselves, but it didn't really break through into the mainstream. Meanwhile the ROG Ally is gaming's best kept secret, a device with surprisingly few compromises, and a huge amount of power for something you can play in your hand. I've gone on record on this very forum (to an audience of upwards of seven) as saying that it might be the best gaming device ever made.
Handheld gaming is on the rise, in the wake of the Switch, and if Xbox can market this into the mainstream, people will be blown away by the idea of playing stuff that looks like their PS5 games on a handheld. There's also the other great strength of PC gaming - an incredibly wide library with many great games available for incredibly cheap. You can get Xcom 2, a game that has never been surpassed in its genre, with all the DLC, for £4.29 right now.
On the other hand, to those of us in the know, it is striking that it is just a ROG Ally with Xbox branding. You can just play your Steam, GOG, and Epic libraries on it. You can't play the Xbox console library on it except via streaming. Obviously 90% of the Xbox library is on PC Game pass, but there are the odd games that are locked to the console. Like, I'd play Lost Odyssey if I could, but even if I bought it on the Xbox store, it's not available for cloud streaming so I can't play it on PC at all. I could emulate it, of course, as the ROG Ally can emulate Xbox 360, and I actually still have a copy and an Xbox 360, but it's always a bit frustrating that I can't just buy it and play it through Game Pass somehow. I wonder if that sort of thing might get confusing for some people. I'm personally struggling to see if there is any advantage to buying an Xbox ROG Ally over an X or a Z1 Extreme model. Is the Xbox branding going to make this stand out above the crowd of handheld PCs? It does seem to be purely an exercise in branding, especially as you could set your handheld PC up to boot straight into Game Pass if you wanted to.
I'm hearing more and more games Console Game Pass games are showing up on PC Game Pass too, is this true?
I'm hearing more and more games Console Game Pass games are showing up on PC Game Pass too, is this true?
Almost all of them these days, and most of them have seamless cross-save progression too.
I was talking about the hardcore gamerz being on top of things like the Rog Ally and Steam Deck, but the rllmuk thread really shows that not to be true. The thread consists of two people who understand it and are quite enthusiastic, three people determined to hate it for the Xbox branding, and everyone else failing to get their heads around what it is. My favorite is when someone has the machine explained to them and they say something like, "Oh I see, it's just a streaming device for Xbox that can play a few other things."
I'm also seeing threads on Reddit where people are laughing at it's pitiful capabilities compared to the PS Portal. I mean, what? That literally is just a streaming device.
Xbox have got their work cut out here.
Man the PS Portal could have been so fucking sick, I would have got one tbh
It is going to be hard to explain what it is. Reminds me of when the WiiU launched and everyone thought it was just a device for the Wii.
To be honest I've totally lost track of all the options when it comes to subscribing to Xbox Live and related services like EA and Ubisoft. I assume that it relevant knowledge for figuring out how good this new device is.
PC gaming is an enthusiast market anyway, handhelds doubly so. I can't see any PC handheld ever going mainstream no matter how much Xbox branding you put on it. Unless literally every game loads up and plays without any need for configuration at all, it's never going to compete with, say, the Switch 2.
I love tinkering with my Steam Deck, getting impossible stuff to run on it and playing around with Proton versions and all that nerdy stuff, but that's not what most people want.
And - while I think this Xbox ROG Ally looks excellent - I do think making an Xbox-branded device that doesn't play Xbox games is a very weird choice. I'm not surprised people are struggling with it.
I bet it's comfortable but the actual design of it I find ugly looking.
Interested in the idea of it price dependent, but like mentioned by others I love the nature of my Rog Ally. I have mine docked currently to the TV in our room, and been playing the original dawn of war on it in the evenings at the moment, and it's little uses here or there like that, that forms why I love it.
