The price of the ROG Xbox Ally X has reportedly increased in Japan due to the ongoing memory and storage crisis. Asus’ high-end Xbox-branded handheld computers are now priced nearly $200 more in China. However, the price of the low-end ROG Xbox Ally has not changed.
Japanese retailer Otaku Souken (via VGC) noticed the price increase. According to the store, the price of the ROG Xbox Ally X has increased from 139,800 yen ($910) to 169,800 yen ($1,106), an increase of 30,000 yen (about $200). The ROG Xbox Ally with 16GB of RAM is still priced at 89,800 yen ($585).
Asus has yet to officially announce the price increase, but according to the outlet, the new prices are now reflected on the company’s official online store in Japan, as well as on the e-commerce sites of other e-retailers in the country.
ROG Xbox Ally X runs on AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chipset
The impact of memory shortage on gaming hardware
The report did not provide a reason for the price increase, but it pointed to memory and storage supply shortages as a possible reason. Ongoing RAM and SSD shortages and rising prices have hit the gaming hardware market hard. Prices for consumer-grade memory and storage, GPUs, and even some gaming consoles have all risen in recent months due to supply shortages.
Consumer PC hardware, especially memory and storage, has seen sharp price increases amid supply shortages, driven by strong demand for chips from artificial intelligence. RAM and SSD prices have doubled or tripled in recent months.
Video game consoles are also bearing the brunt of current market conditions. Even before the memory shortage started, Sony and Microsoft were raising the prices of PS5 and Xbox Series S/X in 2025.
Prices for a new generation of Windows-based handheld devices from Asus, MSI and Lenovo also jumped significantly last year, topping the $1,000 price point. Bloomberg reported this week that Nintendo is considering raising the price of the 2026 Nintendo Switch 2 due to the chip crisis.
Nintendo may increase Switch 2 price in 2026
Photo credit: Nintendo
Additionally, AI-driven memory shortages have impacted the availability of multiple devices. Just this week, Valve confirmed that the Steam Deck OLED is out of stock in the US due to RAM and storage shortages.
According to reports, Sony and Microsoft’s next-generation game console plans have also been affected by the chip crisis. According to Bloomberg, PlayStation parent company may ultimately delay the PS6 to 2028 or even 2029. The next-gen console was originally thought to be targeting a release in 2027 – seven years after the release of the ninth-generation consoles, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. That may not happen now. Microsoft also reportedly has no “full internal commitment” to launching a next-generation Xbox in 2027, believed to be a PC/console hybrid running Windows.
Earlier this month, Valve confirmed that its upcoming PC/console hybrid game Steam Machine might be delayed due to memory and storage shortages. Originally planned to launch in “early 2026,” the SteamOS-based console will now launch in “the first half of 2026.” Due to market conditions, it’s difficult for Valve to finalize the price of the console.
ROG Xbox Ally X and Xbox Ally launch in October 2025. The two handheld devices run on AMD Ryzen Z2 series chipsets and come with Windows 11 with a custom Xbox interface on top.