Asus is slated to officially reveal the details of its upcoming handheld console next month, but the price is already out and Valve should be very worried.
The Asus ROG Ally is already setting itself up as a strong Steam Deck competitor with everything from the ergonomic design, the specs, and the fact that it supports Windows 11. In fact, if you look at everything we know so far about the Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck, the price was the unknown factor that could very well tip the scale from PC gaming's darling Valve over to Asus. And now that it's leaked, Valve needs to respond.
The titbit comes from reputable tech tipster @SnoopyTech who tweeted out a price for the Asus ROG Ally premium model that houses the AMD Z1 Extreme chip. According to them, it'll come in at $699, which is around £560 / AU$1,058 – but bear in mind that hardware (and software) regional pricing is rarely a straight conversion.
Best Buy also listed the unit early by mistake, and Twitter user @wickedkhumz managed to grab a screenshot which seemingly confirms the price tag, as well as the Asus ROG Ally release date, which looks to be June 13, 2023. It's feasible this could be a placeholder date, but with a launch event set for May 11, having the product ship one month later seems realistic.
The price is right
Comparing the Asus ROG Ally and Steam Deck premium models, that's just $50 more you're paying for the high-end Asus console compared to the premium Steam Deck, which is priced at $649. But given the differences between the units, you're getting one heck of an upgrade for the money. If the Z1 Extreme chip's performance is as good as it is on paper, then Valve needs to respond.
The best way to do that would be to revisit the pricing structure for the Steam Deck – and not just the most expensive variant. If Asus is getting this competitive with the ROG Ally price, you can bet your butt that the entry-level model will follow suit. $50 is not an unreasonable amount for the jump in specs – in fact, it's a bargain.
It's important to note that until the Asus ROG Ally price (and release date) have been officially confirmed, we shouldn't take this leak as gospel. But operating on the assumption that it's true, we're looking at a device that's potentially twice as powerful as the Steam Deck, and offers a significant step up in terms of the display with a 120Hz 1080p panel compared to the latter's 60Hz 720p screen.
Throw in the fact that the Asus ROG Ally isn't tied to just a single gaming client, and Valve has a war on its hands – and at the moment it looks like it's going to be over before it's even started. Unless, of course, the Steam Deck price gets revised before the summer.
