Microsoft made the launch date for the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X official today, but if you are a South African looking to snag one on the 16 October launch, think again. Our country isn’t on the lengthy list of launch countries. It sucks a bit, but it just means that the Xbox Handheld Compatibility Program will have more time to work out the kinks before we lay hands on the handheld console.
South Africa falls under the “other markets” banner, since the ROG Ally X is sold here, but launch availability “will follow” for our (and other) regions. But back to that compatibility program.
Holding Microsoft’s handheld
According to Microsoft, its Handheld Compatibility Program is “a new Xbox initiative designed to make more games ready to play on your supported handheld.” There’s not much players need to do beyond look for the new Handheld Optimized or Mostly Compatible tags on their favourite games, with the developers and publishers doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes.
It does mean you won’t fire up something blind, hoping that it’ll work. Optimised titles will feature “default controller inputs, an intuitive text input method, accurate iconography, clear text legibility, and appropriate resolution in full-screen mode,” while Mostly Compatible titles will require player intervention for minor issues before gameplay starts.
There’s an additional tag coming to the Xbox Library — Windows Performance Fit will suggest what level of gaming performance players can expect. After all, if a game can run perfectly at fifteen frames per second, it’s technically optimised. It’s just slow. Microsoft is adding “Should play great” and “Should play well” tags to some games to signify that they won’t offend your poor, mortal eyes with stuttering and slowdown.
The program is ongoing. “We’re continuing to partner with developers to submit new and existing PC titles for handheld compatibility testing, so you can continue to grow your library of handheld compatible games over time,” said Microsoft.
