In a year where seemingly every piece of gaming hardware is getting more expensive thanks to an unrelenting surge in memory prices — the so-called “RAMageddon” — Asus has quietly become the holdout. While other manufacturers pass rising component costs on to players, the company’s popular handheld line has largely dodged price hikes. Better yet, its flashy new anniversary edition, the gold-accented ROG Xbox Ally X20, costs only a little more than the standard model… provided you steer clear of the pricier bundle.
A Golden Birthday With a Gentle Price Tag
The ROG Xbox Ally X20 was created to celebrate 20 years of Xbox — a nod to the original console’s launch back in 2001 — and it wears the occasion proudly with a striking gold finish and anniversary branding. Collector editions like this often command hefty premiums, sometimes hundreds of dollars over the base hardware for little more than a fancy paint job. Asus, refreshingly, didn’t follow that playbook.
How Much More Does It Actually Cost?
The standard ROG Xbox Ally X sits at $699.99, and the X20 anniversary edition lands at $749.99 — a modest $50 bump. For that small surcharge, you get the same capable internals that make the Ally X one of the best Windows gaming handhelds around, wrapped in a limited-edition chassis. As far as special-edition taxes go, that’s about as gentle as they come.
The Catch: Skip the Bundle
The one place where the price climbs is the bundle. Asus also sells the X20 in a package loaded up with additional accessories, and as IGN points out, that’s where the costs really start to add up. Extras and matching peripherals may tempt completists, but if you’re buying purely for the handheld itself, the standalone unit is the smart play — especially when third-party accessories typically cost far less than official bundle premiums.
Standing Firm Against the RAMageddon
Context matters here. Skyrocketing RAM and storage prices have triggered increases across PCs and handhelds alike, and analysts expect the pressure to continue for the foreseeable future. Against that backdrop, Asus keeping its handheld pricing steady — let alone launching a special edition with only a small premium — is genuinely unusual. There’s no guarantee it lasts, either; if component costs keep climbing, even Asus may eventually have to budge. For anyone who’s been eyeing a Windows gaming handheld, the current pricing window looks increasingly like the one to jump through.
Stock Up on Games While You Save
If you do take the plunge and pick up an Ally X20, the savings don’t have to stop at the hardware. A handheld is only as good as its game library, and digital marketplaces make building one out cheaper than ever. You can grab discounted Xbox Game Pass memberships, Xbox gift cards, and Steam Wallet codes over at TURGAME.com — a quick and easy way to make that $50 anniversary premium feel like it disappeared entirely.
Source: IGN