BaldB3lper78

Imagine if you have a launch coming for a product that you would think is a major focus of how Xbox are going to change going forwards, but having so little faith in it that you feel no pre order window or price is needed, even though the launch date is 6 week away.

With Xbox hardware sales being so low - okay, so this an ASUS product - there’s an opportunity to create a buzz for Xbox PC and Game Pass here - it feels like Xbox don’t want to push this at all.

Xbox have dropped the ball so often this generation - more than Andre Onana - and this was a real chance to get something right. And maybe it will be great. But with each passing day with no pre order or price point, they are just making selling the things less and less manageable.

Bizarre. Truly bizarre.

With them still not announcing a price yet, you start to wonder whether they have concerns about this product.
With nearly just a month to release, to have no pre orders available or a price is just weird.

I wonder if this is when the ASUS Rog All Xbox prices will be announced. Would seem to be a very late time to do it though.

At those prices, handheld PC’s are always going to be a very niche product with sales unlikely to ever into double digit millions. Steam Deck is at what, nearly 5 million life-time sales.

For me, its Ninja Gaiden 4….oh, and lets have the prices for the ROG Ally Xbox’s FFS Microsoft. Then my Switch 2 can collect even more dust.

@FraserG oops my bad! I missed that bit lol. Genuinely excited for it. Less than impressed with my switch 2 so far and this looks like it’s for me for many game. Slowly falling back in love with Xbox. Game Pass still amazing in my view.

@FraserG Do we know why the price is still not known? Seems odd with it being released so soon - just over a month away and no idea of cost at all.

I believe that one of the key things that people miss , is that whatever suits you and your budget is most important. For some, that could be a phone to play games on - and I play a variety of games on my iPhone that are good quality. - for others , it might need to be a high end PC.

When I look at the Rog Ally Xbox X, it ticks a lot of boxes for me. User interface , Xbox anywhere is a big thing for me personally , and I will get one:

So many times , people will say , “why would you buy that? It’s not this and it’s not that.”

As a consumer and gamer of over 36 years, what’s important is to that you know what you want and enjoy.

Handheld PC’s are not going to sell 10 million, 20 million etc. Steam Deck has sold 4 million which is impressive.

But when feels like it’s suits your gaming needs and you can afford it, go get it and be happy.

Next Xbox will be backward compatible but will be 2 SKU’s. One console and one handheld. Thats the way the market is going

@BAMozzy Cheers for all that: much appreciated. I think for what I want and will likely need, I’ll go for the Ally X as it does seem to tick the boxes for me.

Thanks again - always good to get help from others on @purexbox

Would those who know more about handheld PC’s than I do, recommend wearing for the Ally or is the Lenovo Go S worth jumping on?

I’m all in. I think

@FraserG If the Ally Comes in at $899 as rumoured , which is £666 (lol) I believe, then I think for me, it’s a done deal.

@FraserG Some awesome pictures there! It feels like rather than dying a death, team green is changing and giving gamers so many more chances to play brilliant games. I don’t agree with all of their ways of going about things , but I do now really feel I can get excited to be an Xbox gamer again.

@FraserG Good to get a sense of the feeling among those testing the devices. I said, I think it was in reply to your good self a little while ago that I had stopped gaming on Xbox due to a lot of reasons, but not long after I found I really missed Game Pass.
Whilst I know there are other handheld PC’s out there, I do like the idea of the Xbox branding and also the user interface - I’m not into fiddly stuff, that’s just me.

Whilst I know the price is expensive (or is it) and I was going to get a Legion GO S, I think I will wait for the Ally X and that will be my Xbox, gaming PC and happy days are ahead!

@WildConcept6 cheers for the advice!

I’ve toyed with the idea of a handheld PC for a couple of years now and tbh have never quite felt compelled enough to pull the trigger and get one.

But I’m already looking at my savings and overtime at work to get the Ally X. Everything looks really user friendly and I’m hyped for it now.

Think I’m going to get one. Will become my main
Console as I play maky handheld these days anyway.

@Kezelpaso Cheers for clearing that up. Makes sense. Much appreciated. Must admit I’m very tempted.

@Kezelpaso sorry if I’m being dumb, but is this only a streaming device then? Can you not download games to it?

@kmtrain83 Exactly that. People want power and miss the point about gaming.
Of course certain games benefit from better visuals - I’m not naive - but many modern gamers have become obsessed with power.

Indiana Jones is a great game on Xbox. It’s looks better on PS5 but it still plays the same. It’s a good game. End of.

Gamers need to realise that if they keep being obsessed with power over gameplay, they will cause damage to the industry as well.

What Xbox are doing is basically a fire sale

@Neither_scene the issue that games on Xbox don’t sell very well already so waiting for sales to plateau wouldn’t take long at all. I guess if they publish all on all platforms then fair enough - and they will soon enough - so that could work I guess.

@PushButtons More Power doesn’t always mean better though. Back in the day we had ‘next generation’ from 8 bit to 16 etc but that just doesn’t exist anymore. The very term ‘next generation’ means nothing. Consoles are becoming more PC like with upgrades and ‘pro’ editions. Nintendo runs its own path and they provide what Nintendo fans want. Other gamers want photo realism at every turn but that doesn’t always mean better games - gameplay is king and always will be. Thats what matters most and always will.

The modern fanboys spend more time talking about ‘power’ and less time talking about gaming. That’s a huge concern that I have had for a long time now. If people think power is most important, they are either not gamers in the first place, or have totally lost sight of what really matters in this industry.

The reality is that Xbox now has totally lost any trust it had left and that was already eroded bound belief. The push for AI will see more devs lost and ultimately Xbox will become a digital platform in every single way. Games made by AI and an ultimate loss on any connection to the very heartbeat of gaming - gamers.

Each passing day brings more bad news and those that do enjoy Game Pass should enjoy whilst it last because I suspect it will be gone very soon.

@PushButtons Wii was a different kettle of fish aimed a much wider and diverse audience. It’s like comparing apples and pears.
Nintendo aims at Nintendo fans. It always will. And that’s why it remains successful.

@PushButtons I’m playing games I want to play on the go. I loved the OG Switch and am happy with the upgrade to Switch 2. I still play other games as well.
Gaming is about what the gamers feels happy with.

How is this surprising? A handheld vs a home console. It’s not surprising at all.

Not sure why this is an article tbh. I can’t take my Series S with me - well I can - but 2 different machines

@Fiendish-Beaver he has said he supports devs quite a few times yet just seems to sack them all these days. He talks of how bright the Xbox future is , yet it’s clearly in total chaos, interminable chaos.

@FraserG It just all seems very extreme. I don’t see how realistically, no matter income from other places, Xbox can sustain itself in the future.
It seems clear that those at the top of Microsoft are looking to pull the plug.

@FraserG Has this all come out of the blue? I had heard rumours of some lay offs but this all seems so much bigger and so much worse than I excepted.

@FraserG It’s a bad day for gaming. But you always act with integrity and care. I just feel that this is one step too far from Xbox and one that will kill off the brand forever.

It’s a sad day but whilst I will walk away from Xbox, I won’t walk away from people and sites that will need our support more than ever after today.

And I mean that genuinely.

@awp69 He’s a liar, a con man and a disgrace to gaming.

Good riddance. Phil Spencer is an abhorrent man. And he has no place in gaming.

@FraserG I am appalled at this news and it’s the final straw. I have cancelled every single thing that I have associated with Xbox.

Phil Spencer should be fired. Booty and Bond.

I will keep following this site because I always have, but this a step too far. Xbox have lost all moral conscience and no longer deserve support.

It’s clear that Game Pass is great in many ways, but Xbox no longer care about gamers, developers and gaming in general.

Xbox is a name now. I play plenty of games on my IPad Pro via cloud and I’m happy with that. I can choose the majority of what I want to play and when and that’s great for accessibility in my book.

2026 will see the continuation of the handhelds tbh but I could see holiday 2026 as well for a new ‘console.’
However. I can’t see that it will be a new Xbox console as such. It will be an XPC or something like that. It will be a PC with Xbox branding - much like the Rog Ally we have coming - and if it has multiple storefronts, it’s certainly won’t and can’t be seen as an Xbox console. It will carry the Xbox name at best.

I play Xbox on my IpadPro and that’s my Xbox. Xbox as a stand alone console is already dead. As a brand and as a name - it’s going to be fine and if they keep Game Pass, it will keep being in the pounds for Microsoft

I’ll stick with GE Force Now and my IPad Pro thanks. Everything runs brilliantly that way and I’ll take my Switch 2 on the road.

I think it’s a fair point being made and I will be honest - if a game comes on Game Pass I will play it and hopefully complete it but it’s unlikely I will go out and buy the game after that, unless it’s extra special. I know that is considered by some to be wrong, but it’s how it is on a tight budget.

Xbox should be paying devs on the number of additional subs it brings in and also on player numbers for said game.

The issue for devs is that the exposure Game Pass gives is brilliant, but it will canabalise sales sadly so there is a huge catch 22 that needs resolving.

Looks cool but the price is going to be crazy. If Switch 2 is £450 , these will be £600 at least. Which is not unreasonable but tbh, I can’t see them being huge successes.

Indiana Jones, Forza, COD for a start.

Xbox PC is Xbox’s future. We know that. And I have no issue with it at all.

This game is laughably bad

Which is exactly why Xbox are doing this. To make more people take out the subs. It’s as simple as that.

Not exactly a huge surprise but not many are buying Xboxes so this will just bring the current gen of Xbox hardware to its end even quicker.

Xbox is a cloud company. Either accept it or don’t. Of course they will offer some hardware, but cloud and multi platform is what they are now and will grow into even more in the future.

I totally agree with everything that you have said here @Fraser_G
I feel a bit disappointed that Nintendo are essentially bringing loads of old third party games that most will already have anyway.
Whilst game price increases were expected, I think they are far too high for many people.

I feel Nintendo are being incredibly greedy and anti gamer tbh.

But overall that means it’s an overall decline. Surely?

I wonder which games will be announced to be going to PS5 and Switch 2? I bet at least one game will be announced to be going fully multi platform.

Be no one left soon. Sad that people are again losing jobs in the gaming industry due to greed and AI,