The escalating costs of PC hardware, driven by high demand for memory amid artificial intelligence developments, continue to affect the market. Lenovo's Legion Go lineup, ranging from the more budget-friendly Legion Go S models to the high-end Go 2 variant, reflects this upward trend in pricing.
The premium Legion Go 2, equipped with a Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage, debuted at $1,349.99 toward the end of last year. Best Buy now lists it at $1,999.99, marking a $650 hike in under six months, as reported by VideoCardz—though this configuration is presently unavailable.
An examination of Best Buy listings via the Internet Archive reveals price comparisons for various Legion Go S options against their initial release figures, excluding pre-owned or renewed units. Among the five configurations reviewed, overall values have increased, with the steepest rises occurring in higher-end setups featuring the Ryzen Z Extreme chip.
In contrast, comparable devices such as the Asus ROG Ally have maintained steady pricing. The Ally X model with the Z2 Extreme remains at its launch price of $1,000 on Best Buy, while the standard version holds at $600 and is discounted to $540 at present.
The Steam Deck, still the leading PC gaming portable years after introduction, has been unavailable for purchase for over six weeks and remains so on Valve's site. Supply shortages and elevated costs are prompting reductions or cancellations in other portable gaming PC projects.
Purchasing a handheld gaming device was most advantageous half a year ago, while the near future could prove challenging or impossible depending on ongoing market conditions.