MSI warns handheld prices could rise again as Steam Deck OLED hits $949

Handheld gaming prices are climbing: the Steam Deck OLED costs $949, a Steam Machine is $1,049, and MSI's Claw 8 EX AI+ is priced at $1,800. MSI product marketing lead Andy Chu warns, "There's much room for another price hike," and says the handheld market "is now entering a time where it's time to take a closer look at what it can offer." He adds the Claw 8 EX AI+ "promises zero compromise between the resolution and graphic settings and also the frames [per second]." Hardware editor Phil Hayton argues no one should be paying over a grand for a handheld and recommends checking open-boxed and refurbished options: "I don't like feeding the beast that is tech price inflation, so in an effort to signal to retailers and portable PC makers that today's price tags are not okay, I like to check out open-boxed and refurbished options." If you prefer new hardware, Chu cautions it may be "a tough year for us and for the gamers." MSI says it tried every approach to get memory and storage at a lower cost and that $1,800 was the best it could do to

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