April 1 is the perfect time for brands to pull off pranks and hoaxes. Some are good, some are corny, and some are—too convincing. The latter is the case with ASUS on their ROG Ally handheld gaming console.
While we still think that it is part of ASUS’ series of April Fool’s pranks, it’s hard to believe that the ROG Ally is a hoax: for one, ASUS prepared a detailed 3-minute video talking about it, and there’s even a Best Buy link on their Twitter post—which MIGHT indicate that it might be real.
Introducing ROG’s first gaming handheld console!
Taking your PC games out of your gaming room is no longer a fantasy!Play wherever you are, whenever you want. With the #ROGALLY, you’ll never have to stop gaming again!
Notify me ? https://t.co/ljc2GNN0UU#ROG pic.twitter.com/6iqyGbTGa4
— ROG Global (@ASUS_ROG) April 1, 2023
As a portable gaming console that aims to steal the Steam Deck’s spotlight, the ROG Ally has a familiar form factor and is running on Windows 11. ASUS claims that it uses a custom AMD Ryzen APU—and its the fastest from the chipmaker yet.
There’s also claims that the ROG Ally will offer Full HD gaming on the go, along with a dual-fan design that keeps the thermals cool. Should you want to dock it, the ROG Ally supports ASUS’ XG Mobile eGPU for streaming your games on a TV.
While the timing of its launch will make everyone think that it’s just an April Fool’s prank, the sophisticated trailer featured a polished UI and footage from actual games. Not to mention that Best Buy link might give us clues that the ROG Ally is an actual device coming soon.
After all, it is very possible that ASUS ROG will release their own handheld gaming console: given their dominance in the gaming phone market with the ROG Phone series, ASUS might be looking to give the Steam Deck a run for its money as well.