Asus ROG Xbox Ally X Price Rises $196 in Japan

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, a premium handheld gaming device developed in collaboration with Microsoft, has seen its price rise by nearly 200 dollars in Japan, amid ongoing shortages in memory components affecting the tech industry.

The device, which launched several months ago, now costs 169,800 yen, up from its original 139,800 yen. That equates to an increase of about 30,000 yen, or roughly 196 dollars at current exchange rates. The hike, first reported by Japanese outlets and gaming communities, applies only to the high-end Ally X model. The standard ROG Ally remains priced at 89,800 yen, unchanged since its October debut.

Industry observers attribute the adjustment to surging costs for DRAM and NAND flash storage, driven by global demand from artificial intelligence applications and data centers. The Ally X features 24 gigabytes of faster LPDDR5X RAM at 8,000 megatransfers per second, compared to the standard model's 16 gigabytes of LPDDR5 at 6,400 megatransfers. This higher specification makes the premium version more vulnerable to component price fluctuations. Production costs for such parts have risen across the sector, impacting everything from personal computers to consoles.