Asus has engaged iconic voice actors from Grand Theft Auto V, Ned Luke (Michael De Santa) and Shawn Fonteno (Franklin Clinton), to spearhead a social media campaign promoting pre-orders for their new portable gaming PCs, the ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X.
In a promotional video shared by Asus on X (formerly Twitter), Fonteno emphasizes “handheld freedom for everybody,” with Luke adding, “You know you gotta have an ally, and Xbox picked the right Ally.” Pricing details for these devices were recently disclosed: the standard ROG Xbox Ally is set at $600 in the U.S., and the premium Xbox Ally X will retail for $1,000. Both models are slated for release on October 16.
The entry-level ROG Xbox Ally, with its AMD Ryzen Z2 A processor (Zen 4), 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD, shares similar specifications with the Steam Deck OLED. The more advanced Xbox Ally X boasts an AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor (Zen 5), 24GB DDR5 RAM, and a larger 1TB SSD. Earlier in June, an exclusive hands-on preview of the Xbox Ally X was conducted.
Asus had previously indicated its intention to leverage the popularity of the GTA V actors to build anticipation for the ROG Xbox Ally series. The company also collaborated with Steven Ogg, known for his role as Trevor Philips in GTA V, on past campaigns.
In related news, Microsoft recently announced another price adjustment for its Xbox consoles in the US. Effective October 3, the Xbox Series S will see an increase from $380 to $400, and the Xbox Series X 1TB model will rise from $600 to $650.