Following up on recent reports of the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X getting a price hike in Japan, it looks like other markets are also following suit. As caught by PCGamer, the handheld gaming PC has become AU$200 (roughly $85) more expensive in Australia, bringing its price up from AU$1,599 (roughly $1,127) to AU$1,799 (roughly $1,268). The new pricing has been reflected across all retailers selling the ROG Xbox Ally X, and just like in Japan, the price of the ROG Xbox Ally has remained unchanged.
As the previous report noted, this price hike likely comes down to the fact that the ROG Xbox Ally X uses higher-speed and higher-capacity RAM than the ROG Xbox Ally. The former is equipped with 24 GB of LPDDR5X-8000 RAM, while the latter runs on 16 GB of LPDDR5-6400 RAM. Costs associated with storage may have also played a role here, since the Xbox Ally X has 1 TB, while the Xbox Ally only has 512 GB.
The Japanese market saw a steeper price hike, with a difference of almost $200. In the country, the ROG Xbox Ally X is now priced at ¥169,800 (roughly $1,109)—a ¥30,000 (roughly $196) increase over its previously costing ¥139,800 (roughly $913).
Asus and Microsoft aren’t the only companies to have been affected by the global shortages in memory modules. Valve had to recently update the Steam Deck listing to warn buyers that there might be intermittent stock shortages. Along with this, the company has also confirmed that production on the Steam Deck 256 GB LCD has been halted, and that the SKU will no longer be available once existing stock runs out.
The company’s upcoming Linux-based pre-built PC, the Steam Machine, has also been affected, with Valve noting that the spike in memory prices had caused it to “revisit our exact shipping schedule and pricing.”
“Our goal of shipping all three products in the first half of the year has not changed,” explained Valve. “But we have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce, being mindful of how quickly the circumstances around both of those things can change. We will keep you updated as much as we can as we finalize those plans as soon as possible.”
Another recent report has indicated that Sony’s next-gen console plans may have been hit particularly hard, with the company now eyeing 2028 or 2029 launch for the PS6. While no official announcement has been made yet, “people familiar with the company’s thinking” have noted that this will end up being a major blow to Sony’s console launch strategy.
Nintendo is similarly also rumored to be looking at price hikes for the Nintendo Switch 2. While it has enough in stock for the time being, Nintendo’s desire to expand its audience by ensuring market penetration will likely involve acquiring more memory modules in some way, which in turn could lead to a price increase for the console.