Support NeoGAF

[Hohenheim]

I will never understand people wanting to play handheld. I respect it but I dont understand it

Nothing can beat playing a videogame on a big screen with the best quality

For many games I totally agree. I would never play a cinematic, epic game on a handheld.
But some games/genres are brilliant on handhelds. stuff like jrpgs, deck builders, Rouge likes etc. I don't need my 32" 240hz 4K monitor or my 65" TV to play Slay the Spire. That stuff is perfect lying on the couch with a handheld.
My MSI Claw is basically my "Trails in the sky" machine.

 

[existensmaximum]

Man, you must have been REALLY confused when the PS4 and Switch launched.

Not nearly as confused as I am reading your reply, trying to make sense of it or see the analogy. But wherever.

 

[CentralScrutinizer]

Not nearly as confused as I am reading your reply, trying to make sense of it or see the analogy. But wherever.

They're saying the PS4 launched without the ability to play ANY old games and no one was confused about it being a new ecosystem that excluded the games that came before.

 

[IDKFA]

damn, kind of a shame. I want to see some true next gen handhelds. Probably why Valve is waiting.

Agreed , the SD2 will be a proper generational leap.

Then you also have Sony entering the handheld market again with the PS6 (the rumor is there will be a hybrid version like the Switch)

 

[Ozriel]

Not nearly as confused as I am reading your reply, trying to make sense of it or see the analogy. But wherever.

When I bought my PS4 at launch, it had no backwards compatibility

When I bought my Switch at launch in 2017, it couldn't play Wii or Wii U or GameCube games.

The idea that consoles have to be fully backward compatible to be called consoles is just hilarious, considering relatively recent history.

But I'm not surprised at your response.

 

[Lokaum D+]

Okay papi

 

[Onironauta]

When I bought my PS4 at launch, it had no backwards compatibility

When I bought my Switch at launch in 2017, it couldn't play Wii or Wii U or GameCube games.

The idea that consoles have to be fully backward compatible to be called consoles is just hilarious, considering relatively recent history.

But I'm not surprised at your response.

It has nothing to do with backwards compatibility. This is not a traditional console like every Xbox that came so far. It doesn't have a specific gaming-focused OS, it's Windows 11.

It plays games developed for Windows PCs. Just like the previous Rog Ally, the Legion Go and every chinese handheld PC.

But it has an Xbox sticker on it, that's it.

 

[LordBritish]

these will be nice a year from now when they are 30% off

 

[R3TRO]

Eh, ended up canceling mine and buying a couch instead...Adulting is the worst.

 

[Katatonic]

 

[Ozriel]

It has nothing to do with backwards compatibility. This is not a traditional console like every Xbox that came so far. It doesn't have a specific gaming-focused OS, it's Windows 11.

It plays games developed for Windows PCs. Just like the previous Rog Ally, the Legion Go and every chinese handheld PC.

But it has an Xbox sticker on it, that's it.

So if the next gen Xbox runs Windows 11 and still has full BC with Series/Xbox One, you'd call it a console? or not?

Also, it can't be that hard for you to follow the thread of the conversation and see what I was responding to.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

Best Deal in Gaming.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

So if the next gen Xbox runs Windows 11 and still has full BC with Series/Xbox One, you'd call it a console? or not?

Also, it can't be that hard for you to follow the thread of the conversation and see what I was responding to.

it's a windows PC that has a compatibility layer for xbox.

How far backward are you going to bend before you say this is too much, you make me look stupid?

 

[Onironauta]

So if the next gen Xbox runs Windows 11 and still has full BC with Series/Xbox One, you'd call it a console? or not?

Also, it can't be that hard for you to follow the thread of the conversation and see what I was responding to.

If the next gen Xbox runs full Windows 11 I'd call it a prebuilt PC, even with the Xbox BC

If it has a gaming focused OS but plays Windows 11 games I'd call it a PC-console hybrid

Sorry if my reply was off topic

 

[alabtrosMyster]

It's not even OLED?

I just didn't see that mentioned everywhere, am I wrong? I feel we would not ear the end of it if it was OLED.

$1 000 and still no OLED screen.

 

[IntentionalPun]

The full screen experience being a bust perf wise is hardly surprising. Freeing a little bit of memory and killing processes that mostly sit idle isn't magic.

 

[RAIDEN1]

What this price tells you is that come 2027 home based consoles will exceed what this handheld costs....PS5 Pro was the early indicator where we are headed

 

[Haint]

these will be nice a year from now when they are 30% off

That would only take it to the price of the original Ally Z1 Extreme, which was already expensive.

 

[mayham2199]

The full screen experience being a bust perf wise is hardly surprising. Freeing a little bit of memory and killing processes that mostly sit idle isn't magic.

Yea when I heard they freed up some memory I realized this would be BS. It's not like these systems were maxing out the memory and that's what was causing the performance to be worse than SteamOS. It's deeper than that and I guarantee you MS knows this as well.

What this price tells you is that come 2027 home based consoles will exceed what this handheld costs....PS5 Pro was the early indicator where we are headed

Your crazy if you think Sony is releasing a PS6 for 1000. They are still in the business of trying to sell their console MS is not.

 

[IntentionalPun]

Yea when I heard they freed up some memory I realized this would be BS. It's not like these systems were maxing out the memory and that's what was causing the performance to be worse than SteamOS. It's deeper than that and I guarantee you MS knows this as well.

There's probably room to improve it but I still don't expect much. They'd really have to make more major changes and probably require different drivers for various components.

 

[mayham2199]

There's probably room to improve it but I still don't expect much. They'd really have to make more major changes and probably require different drivers for various components.

Exactly IMO the changes that need to be made wont be something that MS is willing to do.

 

[Azzurri]

I think I'll wait for a Legion GO 2 to go onsale maybe snag one for 1k or little under later on.

 

[RAIDEN1]

Yea when I heard they freed up some memory I realized this would be BS. It's not like these systems were maxing out the memory and that's what was causing the performance to be worse than SteamOS. It's deeper than that and I guarantee you MS knows this as well.



Your crazy if you think Sony is releasing a PS6 for 1000. They are still in the business of trying to sell their console MS is not.

Like I said they are edging that way with the PS5 Pro, not being that far off (when it was brand new) there's no price-cap when it comes to gaming for these multi-million dollar companies swimming in money

 

[Fess]

Just got mine!

First impressions:

* Nice box and general packaging. Not like an Apple product but good.

* Thought it was a bit strange that they didn't bundle it with a charger in Europe… But the instruction manual says that you should only use the bundled charger…
And 1000€ but no charger included? Come on!

Oh well I used the one from Steam Deck. Can always trust Gabe to fix things.

* During the OS setup sequence they says that your computer will reboot etc. So that should close THAT discussion. It's a PC.

* First setup took forever because of Windows updates. Was stuck at 6% for a looong time.

* Feels awesome in the hands! Absolute top notch ergonomics.

* Screen looks great!

* Sticks are perfect. Buttons too.

* D-Pad… hmm…. I don't like the round form. Feels like a low budget dpad. Should've gone with a standard one.
It does it's job though based on a Silksong session.

* Steam is preinstalled. Gabe wins by doing nothing as usual.

* Steam starts in desktop mode even when going from Xbox fullscreen mode. Can't they get a preset there to always use a big screen mode if that is used elsewhere ?
One tap on the screen fixed it though.

* Xbox button usage clash between Xbox App and Steam. Brings up both the Steam bpm menu and Xbox app menu. And holding down Xbox button does nothing? Very surprising since this was one of the things they wanted to fix.

* Once you go out to the desktop you want a touch pad. This is the biggest letdown. Touch ain't working with my fingers at least. Tapping checkboxes leads to trying 3-5 times before I get the tap where I want it.

*sigh*

… Installing Playnite …

* Now we're talking!

ROG Ally theme

 

[Gtafans93]

Been playing around with it. Setup is alot of updates but once that hits off the gaming is fantastic. But play on turbo if you want good performance and fantastic graphics. or play old games, Max payne 3 on a handheld is amazing

 

[Onironauta]

What this price tells you is that come 2027 home based consoles will exceed what this handheld costs....PS5 Pro was the early indicator where we are headed

I really doubt it

- Handheld PCs are sold at profit because they don't sell more software...this is a bit of a special case with Microsoft and GamePass but still not the same
- PS5 Pro was aimed at enthusiasts who are willing to spend more money

I believe the base consoles next gen will cost around 600 dollars/euros

 

[Fess]

The A button just got physically stuck for about 2 seconds before popping out again…
Googled it and I got way too many hits on it for the old Ally …. Uh oh

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Disastrous PR and marketing. It's clear this Xbox aint selling shit.

 

[adamsapple]

Just got mine!

First impressions:

* Nice box and general packaging. Not like an Apple product but good.

* Thought it was a bit strange that they didn't bundle it with a charger in Europe… But the instruction manual says that you should only use the bundled charger…
And 1000€ but no charger included? Come on!

Oh well I used the one from Steam Deck. Can always trust Gabe to fix things.

* During the OS setup sequence they says that your computer will reboot etc. So that should close THAT discussion. It's a PC.

* First setup took forever because of Windows updates. Was stuck at 6% for a looong time.

* Feels awesome in the hands! Absolute top notch ergonomics.

* Screen looks great!

* Sticks are perfect. Buttons too.

* D-Pad… hmm…. I don't like the round form. Feels like a low budget dpad. Should've gone with a standard one.
It does it's job though based on a Silksong session.

* Steam is preinstalled. Gabe wins by doing nothing as usual.

* Steam starts in desktop mode even when going from Xbox fullscreen mode. Can't they get a preset there to always use a big screen mode if that is used elsewhere ?
One tap on the screen fixed it though.

* Xbox button usage clash between Xbox App and Steam. Brings up both the Steam bpm menu and Xbox app menu. And holding down Xbox button does nothing? Very surprising since this was one of the things they wanted to fix.

* Once you go out to the desktop you want a touch pad. This is the biggest letdown. Touch ain't working with my fingers at least. Tapping checkboxes leads to trying 3-5 times before I get the tap where I want it.

*sigh*

… Installing Playnite …

* Now we're talking!

ROG Ally theme

Was watching the GIant Bomb coverage and they said that if you install the FSE, it saves as much as 2GB RAM for games.

On paper that sounds like a pretty decent ~10% reduction in system RAM usage.

 

[TDiddyLive]

Was watching the GIant Bomb coverage and they said that if you install the FSE, it saves as much as 2GB RAM for games.

On paper that sounds like a pretty decent ~10% reduction in system RAM usage.

The system boots up in Xbox full screen mode. If you go to the Windows desktop then return to Xbox, a pop up lets you know you can but it won't run as good compared to rebooting and gives you the choice of proceeding or rebooting.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

 

[Barakov]

So...Not A Xbox?

when you're telling everyone that everything is a Xbox.

 

[Gripsx]

Its crazy to me that Microsoft has a wonderful controller focused OS in their consoles that they worked on for decades by the Xbox team and dont bother porting it to handheld.

Looks like the Windows guys are now calling the shot

 

[Topher]

 

[TDiddyLive]

So...Not A Xbox?

when you're telling everyone that everything is a Xbox.

It is an Xbox. Just look at the box the storage case come in.

Or the case itself tells you…

 

[Topher]

Jez's Xbox coverage is top notch these days

 

[Fess]

Update: The A button getting stuck issue has happened several times now. When googling on it it seems like a problem that has existed on all ASUS devices. Some had trouble with the right trigger too but I've never experienced that here. Some said it disappears after usage, that it's about rugged plastic on the buttons nagging on the casing or something. I don't know.

I will try to get a full refund.


Short summary of the core aspect of it from one evening or usage:
The full screen Windows isn't there yet. Like it's not even close. For me this is only functional as I wanted it when I boot into Playnite, a third party multi launcher app. But there are still scenarios where it becomes a tiny touch screen Windows device since the full screen experience isn't system level but app based. And that's super annoying. Especially with no touch pad and adult fingers. Everything is tiny. And moving the mouse pointer with the stick is awful.

So, my take away is that Microsoft has a long way to go before they fully merge the Xbox as a console experience into Windows gaming. Like this is many years away. This was rushed. I could go into a lot of detail but I'm not sure anybody want to listen to that.

Conclusion:
The same people that enjoyed the original Ally will enjoy this.
The same people who didn't like the original Ally won't like this.

There it is.

User review score:
(Ignoring the stick button issue… Likely a device specific problem.)
Without Playnite, 4/10. Xbox App isn't good enough at all.
With Playnite, 7/10. It's great in theory but anything in desktop mode still becomes a problem with no touch pad.


Now, how do I remove all my stuff on a Windows 11 device???
Is there a factory reset option somewhere? Has anybody here sold an ASUS handheld?

 

[March Climber]

damn, kind of a shame. I want to see some true next gen handhelds. Probably why Valve is waiting.

This is currently the most powerful handheld as of now:



MSRP 1,599.00

I'm guessing you will be waiting until closer to 2030.

 

[Topher]

Update: The A button getting stuck issue has happened several times now. When googling on it it seems like a problem that has existed on all ASUS devices. Some had trouble with the right trigger too but I've never experienced that here. Some said it disappears after usage, that it's about rugged plastic on the buttons nagging on the casing or something. I don't know.

I will try to get a full refund.


Short summary of the core aspect of it from one evening or usage:
The full screen Windows isn't there yet. Like it's not even close. For me this is only functional as I wanted it when I boot into Playnite, a third party multi launcher app. But there are still scenarios where it becomes a tiny touch screen Windows device since the full screen experience isn't system level but app based. And that's super annoying. Especially with no touch pad and adult fingers. Everything is tiny. And moving the mouse pointer with the stick is awful.

So, my take away is that Microsoft has a long way to go before they fully merge the Xbox as a console experience into Windows gaming. Like this is many years away. This was rushed. I could go into a lot of detail but I'm not sure anybody want to listen to that.

Conclusion:
The same people that enjoyed the original Ally will enjoy this.
The same people who didn't like the original Ally won't like this.

There it is.

User review score:
(Ignoring the stick button issue… Likely a device specific problem.)
Without Playnite, 4/10. Xbox App isn't good enough at all.
With Playnite, 7/10. It's great in theory but anything in desktop mode still becomes a problem with no touch pad.


Now, how do I remove all my stuff on a Windows 11 device???
Is there a factory reset option somewhere? Has anybody here sold an ASUS handheld?

Sucks it is defective. Sounds like your experience with FSE was about like mine. Question is how long will it take them to improve it.

Nice summary, btw

 

[Coolade]

Necessary upgrade.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Necessary upgrade.

Can it dual boot off the same NVME or are you locked back into only being able to use Steam and Linux? Wouldn't you also lose the ability to use Auto SR when it releases early next year for the device?

 

[Fess]

Sucks it is defective. Sounds like your experience with FSE was about like mine. Question is how long will it take them to improve it.

Nice summary, btw

Right now I have lost all hope. I think they're lost, they don't seem to see the obvious problems, too much internal positivity and lack of critical thinking or something. It's noticeable essentially from the initial setup process.

Tbh I should've known how it would be after trying the Full Screen Xbox App Insider beta when they had C64-resolution game icons from other launchers and thought that was good enough to show outside the office. But I thought they had a plan going by all the PR work, they seemed very confident. But nope.

Assuming I get the refund I'll be out of all this. I have no interest in the upcoming Lenovo Go device either right now. It has touch pads but Windows handheld gaming just isn't where it needs to be, on an OS level. They're still desktop PCs underneath it all. Feels like sitting in the backseat of a car and driving it by tapping a smart phone. The OS just isn't made for small screens and no mouse.

Playnite is good though. But the desktop mode is sometimes needed and then you sit there with three bad types of experiences:
1) touch screen and tiny check boxes
2) touch pad and tiny mouse pointer
3) joystick mouse pointer

Reminds me of the desktop OS in The Final Cartridge on C64 where you moved a pointer with a Tac-2 joystick. That was awhile ago. Things should've improved at least a little bit.

 

[tusharngf]

 

[fran.fernandez]

I use my rog ally x ad main pc and fornite lol.
Recently all the ui changed. Its feels more like built in than windows + armore.

I had the og rog ally as well but that was awful.

 

[demigod]

You know it's bad when mr matty shits on it.

 

[Baemono]

Jez's Xbox coverage is top notch these days

I knew he couldn't keep up any longer fighting the misinformation

 

[Ashamam]

ut I thought they had a plan going by all the PR work, they seemed very confident. But nope.

Right here is the Xbox problem. People buy into the hype and leave critical thinking at the door.

MS has form for not living up to the marketing. The correct approach for Xbox is approach with a hefty dose of skepticism, you may on occasion be surprised in a good way but at least you won't live in a world of disappointment.

Or tldr, read all the reviews before buying.

 

[demigod]

My man Topher already out here doing returns.

 

[applesaucejaxon]

Eh, ended up canceling mine and buying a couch instead...Adulting is the worst.

You made the right choice.

 

[Nonehxc]

Time for another disininformation campain to combat these shills

Don't be caught in the Corden's Jizz

he goes to the gym

he'll force feed you a ton of beans

MC Ham Tits out, peace