Latest news with #XboxAlly
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Xbox Ally Handheld Console to Launch This Year From Microsoft
Xbox will launch two new handheld gaming devices, ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, this holiday season. The products are made in collaboration with ASUS and described as combining 'the power of Xbox with the freedom you expect from Windows.' More from Variety 'Deadpool' VR Game Starring Neil Patrick Harris Set From Meta Quest, Marvel New 'Game of Thrones' PC Strategy Game 'War for Westeros' to Launch in 2026 Day of the Devs Producers Tease Summer Game Fest Plans and How They're Evolving Biz iam8bit After 20 Years 'When you power on your Xbox Ally, you'll boot directly into the Xbox full screen experience, a new feature optimized specifically for handheld gaming,' according to Xbox's announcement for the handheld Ally devices, which was made during the Xbox Games Showcase live presentation Sunday. 'With new modifications that minimize background activity and defer non-essential tasks, more system resources are dedicated specifically to gameplay. That means more memory, higher framerates, and a fully immersive experience for players—all made possible by the versatility and freedom of Windows.' The devices will have a dedicated Xbox button, contoured grips and accessibility features that are already established on Xbox consoles and Windows PC. Xbox says pricing, release date, accessories and pre-order details for the Ally and Ally X will be announced at a later date. Per the description for the Ally, 'The Xbox Ally offers great value for anyone looking to take their favorite games wherever they want to play, whether it's 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33,' 'Gears of War: Reloaded,' 'Lies of P,' 'South of Midnight,' or many more. It's powered by the AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor—balancing performance and power consumption to maximize battery life without sacrificing gameplay quality—16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.' Separately, the Ally X 'offers more for players looking to get the best level of performance and visual settings from their favorite games on a handheld.' According to the specs, the device 'features the AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor—allowing us to power the latest AI features as they are introduced— double the storage to have more native games at your fingertips, and 24GB of high-speed RAM that more demanding games crave. The Xbox Ally X also features impulse triggers for more immersive play.' Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
Free Malaysia Today
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Free Malaysia Today
Microsoft unveils ROG Xbox Ally handheld video game devices
Two 'ROG Xbox Ally' models will be available by the year-end holiday season. (EPA Images pic) SAN FRANCISCO : Microsoft unveiled its first Xbox-branded handheld gaming devices today, touting them as a way to play its vast library of titles anywhere. Two 'ROG Xbox Ally' models made in a partnership with Taiwan-based ASUS will be available by the year-end holiday season, Xbox president Sarah Bond said during an online event showcasing games heading for the platform. 'The Xbox Ally is an Xbox you can hold in your hands, bringing together the power of Xbox and the freedom of Windows,' Bond said. 'On this Xbox, you can play games across your entire library, including all the Windows PC game stores from Xbox and to Steam, GOG (Good Old Games platform) and Ubisoft Connect.' The peek at Xbox Ally came just days after the release of Nintendo's Switch 2, the handheld console that could score record early sales for the Japanese 'Super Mario' creator. The Nintendo device, which features a bigger screen and more processing power, is an upgrade to the Switch that became a global phenomenon with hit games such as 'Animal Crossing.' Microsoft promised to disclose pricing and release date details for Xbox Ally in the coming months. Both Xbox handhelds appeared similar to Microsoft console controllers in terms of buttons, toggles and grips but looked elongated to provide room for center screens. 'When you power on your Xbox Ally, you'll boot directly into the Xbox full screen experience, a new feature optimised specifically for handheld gaming,' Microsoft said in a release. 'The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are perfect for players looking to take an approachable gaming experience with you during travels – whether it's between airports, or between the comfiest chairs in the living room.'
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Microsoft unveils ROG Xbox Ally handheld video game devices
The peek at Xbox Ally came just days after the release of Nintendo's Switch 2. PHOTO: AFP SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft on June 8 unveiled its first Xbox-branded handheld gaming devices, touting them as a way to play its vast library of titles anywhere. Two 'ROG Xbox Ally' models made in a partnership with Taiwan-based Asus will be available by the year-end holiday season, Xbox president Sarah Bond said during an online event showcasing games heading for the platform. 'The Xbox Ally is an Xbox you can hold in your hands, bringing together the power of Xbox and the freedom of Windows,' Ms Bond said. 'On this Xbox, you can play games across your entire library, including all the Windows PC game stores from Xbox and to Steam, GOG (Good Old Games platform) and Ubisoft Connect.' The peek at Xbox Ally came just days after the release of Nintendo's Switch 2, the handheld console that could score record early sales for the Japanese 'Super Mario' creator. The Nintendo device, which features a bigger screen and more processing power, is an upgrade to the Switch that became a global phenomenon with hit games such as 'Animal Crossing'. Microsoft promised to disclose pricing and release date details for Xbox Ally in the coming months. Both Xbox handhelds appeared similar to Microsoft console controllers in terms of buttons, toggles and grips but looked elongated to provide room for center screens. 'When you power on your Xbox Ally, you'll boot directly into the Xbox full screen experience, a new feature optimized specifically for handheld gaming,' Microsoft said in a release. 'The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are perfect for players looking to take an approachable gaming experience with you during travels – whether it's between airports, or between the comfiest chairs in the living room.' AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Geek Wire
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Wire
Xbox Ally vs. Nintendo Switch 2: Microsoft enters a handheld console war that lacks actual competition
(Xbox Image) This isn't quite what we expected to see last year, but the ROG Xbox Ally still marks a new chapter in the rapidly developing 'handheld war.' Microsoft's announcement of the Ally during its annual Xbox Showcase broadcast on Sunday only came a few days after Nintendo's release of its latest console, the Switch 2. While it's probably not intentional on Microsoft's part, that does set up a natural clash in the marketplace between the Xbox Ally and the Switch 2. Both are portable gaming systems, and both are major players in the international console market. At almost any other time in console history, this actually would've been a deliberate shot across Nintendo's bow. Microsoft is one of the few players who could actually hope to diminish Nintendo's hammerlock on the portable gaming scene. That's not what this is, however. Microsoft has shown a notable unwillingness to actually compete with Nintendo in recent years, instead preferring to publish former exclusives like Grounded and Hi-Fi Rush on the Switch. Further, the Xbox Ally from the jump is aimed at an established audience of PC gaming enthusiasts. One of its marquee features, in fact, is the ability to consolidate your games library into a single menu via the Xbox app. If you're at all into playing games on your computer, it's easy to end up with a big library spread out across a half-dozen storefronts: Steam, Epic, GOG, Itch, Microsoft Store, Game Pass, etc. As presented, the Ally can keep your entire collection in one easy-to-browse place, although individual games' compatibility with the Ally is not guaranteed. The Xbox Ally is also intended to ship with Copilot for Gaming integrated into the experience, so each Ally will come complete with an AI-powered 'companion.' If you grab the more expensive Ally X, it contains a high-end Ryzen chip that's apparently meant to future-proof the device to some extent against any further AI projects Microsoft might bring to the unit. Those two features are meant to appeal to a couple of specific audiences: people who already primarily play games on their PCs, and serious gadget hounds. The Xbox Ally is a huge new spoke in Microsoft's established 'Play Anywhere' initiative, but much of what it does is there to streamline the experience for people who are already heavily invested in the Xbox gaming platform. At Nintendo's Switch 2 launch event in San Francisco, executive VP Devon Pritchard hands a fan the first Switch 2 unit sold. (Nintendo Image) The Switch 2, by comparison, arguably has a different version of a similar issue. Nintendo famously does not follow the same sales plan with its consoles as Sony or Microsoft, preferring to put out cheaper devices with lower-end tech that can be produced for a per-unit profit. As a result, Nintendo's hardware tends to be dramatically less powerful than its competitors'. The original Switch was already having profound growing pains, as even some games by Nintendo itself (i.e. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet) did not run well on the Switch, especially in its portable mode. The difference is that Nintendo has, well, Nintendo. For 40 years, the biggest reason to buy a Nintendo console is to play Nintendo's exclusive in-house productions like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Super Smash Bros. While some of Nintendo's franchises have appeared on mobile devices recently, the actual marquee titles — Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8, etc. — have never been officially ported to anything besides official Nintendo systems. Unlike Sony, which has begun bringing first-party PlayStation games to PC via Steam in recent years, Nintendo wants you to have to buy its consoles to play its games. I could give you a laundry list of complaints about the Switch as a whole, not least of which is the peculiar and uncharacteristic fragility of its hardware, but Nintendo has always been its own biggest advantage. That does mean that the primary reason to buy a Switch 2 is the promise of whatever new first-party Nintendo games will eventually be released for the system. Like the Xbox Ally, it's already aimed at a specific, established audience: fans of the company's established franchises. The real X-factor in this discussion, however, is the Xbox Ally's price tag. The Switch 2 currently retails for an MSRP of $499.99, and while its launch lineup is fairly weak, it's backwards compatible with most if not all of the existing Switch library. The ROG Xbox Ally will ship with two separate SKUs: the cheaper, less powerful base model, and the higher-end Ally X. Microsoft has yet to reveal their respective prices at launch, but since the Xbox Ally is a customized model of the existing ROG Ally, it's hard to imagine either version will cost less than $650. In theory, the Xbox Ally can make up some of that difference through a cheaper software library. Digital storefronts have flash sales and free weekends all the time, and there's always Game Pass. Meanwhile, Nintendo has become infamous for almost never lowering the prices on its games, digitally or otherwise; the Switch 2 is significantly more expensive than its predecessor; and any die-hard Switch fan will tell you that you'll want to pick up a Pro Controller ($89) eventually. All in all, this is an unusually pricey console launch for Nintendo. At the end of the day, the Switch 2 and Xbox Ally are laser-focused on two separate, specific audiences. They have points of overlap, but only in the vaguest possible sense, and at least one of the two companies is less interested in active competition than ever before. If you're looking to break into portable gaming in 2025, it's going to come down to your particular fields of interest, as well as whatever Microsoft decides to charge for the Xbox Ally.
Japan Today
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Microsoft unveils ROG Xbox Ally handheld video game devices
Microsoft says that its coming ROG Xbox Ally handheld gaming devices will be available by the year-end holiday season, with pricing soon to be disclosed Microsoft on Sunday unveiled its first Xbox-branded handheld gaming devices, touting them as a way to play its vast library of titles anywhere. Two "ROG Xbox Ally" models made in a partnership with Taiwan-based ASUS will be available by the year-end holiday season, Xbox president Sarah Bond said during an online event showcasing games heading for the platform. "The Xbox Ally is an Xbox you can hold in your hands, bringing together the power of Xbox and the freedom of Windows," Bond said. "On this Xbox, you can play games across your entire library, including all the Windows PC game stores from Xbox and to Steam, GOG (Good Old Games platform) and Ubisoft Connect." The peek at Xbox Ally came just days after the release of Nintendo's Switch 2, the handheld console that could score record early sales for the Japanese "Super Mario" creator. The Nintendo device, which features a bigger screen and more processing power, is an upgrade to the Switch that became a global phenomenon with hit games such as "Animal Crossing." Microsoft promised to disclose pricing and release date details for Xbox Ally in the coming months. Both Xbox handhelds appeared similar to Microsoft console controllers in terms of buttons, toggles and grips but looked elongated to provide room for center screens. "When you power on your Xbox Ally, you'll boot directly into the Xbox full screen experience, a new feature optimized specifically for handheld gaming," Microsoft said in a release. "The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are perfect for players looking to take an approachable gaming experience with you during travels -- whether it's between airports, or between the comfiest chairs in the living room." © 2025 AFP
