Danny Weber
MSI is taking preorders for the Claw 8 EX AI+ in China, while rising memory and SSD costs are pushing handheld gaming PCs into premium territory.
MSI has started taking preorders in China for the portable gaming handheld Claw 8 EX AI+. The device starts at 11,999 yuan, while its overseas price reaches $1,799. For the handheld gaming market, this is no longer mass-console territory but a pricey mini-PC for enthusiasts.
MSI explains the high price by pointing to the rising cost of components. Company product marketing lead Andy Chu said in an interview with FRVR that MSI tried to lower the final price through talks with memory and storage suppliers, but could not fully offset market pressure. According to him, this will be a tough year both for MSI and for players.
The Claw 8 EX AI+ comes with an Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor, Arc B390 graphics, 32 GB of LPDDR5x memory, an 8-inch IPS touchscreen and a 1 TB SSD. On paper, that makes it much more capable than many early handheld gaming PCs, but memory and storage are now among the main reasons devices like this are getting more expensive.
Andy Chu compared the situation around the new model with the Steam Deck OLED, which has also seen a noticeable price increase. In his view, Steam Deck used to be attractive largely because it was affordable, but buyers now have to look more closely not only at price but also at real-world performance. MSI is betting that the Claw 8 EX AI+ can justify its cost with a higher level of capability.
The problem is not limited to MSI. In recent months, gaming hardware prices have climbed across much of the market. Valve raised the price of Steam Deck OLED, Nintendo is preparing a Switch 2 price increase, Sony has increased PS5 prices, and Microsoft has revised Xbox pricing more than once. All of this suggests that handheld consoles and gaming devices are entering a period where affordability is no longer their main advantage.
The most uncomfortable signal for buyers is that MSI does not yet see a quick reason for the situation to improve. Chu said he does not know whether hardware prices will begin to fall, while component costs may still rise further. That makes the Claw 8 EX AI+ look less like a one-off expensive launch and more like part of a broader trend in which gaming devices are becoming harder to afford.
© MSI