MSI has listed the official pre-order price of its new Claw gaming handheld and I think you're going to want to sit yourself down

I’m very intrigued by the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. For one, I enjoyed my time with the previous iteration, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM. For a second, it’s got Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme processor nestled inside. And for a third, our Dave got his hands on one at Computex, and said it “feels like the standard all new handheld gaming PCs will be judged by.”

Exciting stuff. Except MSI has now listed its new mega handheld for pre-order, at the low low price of… $1,799? Holy moly, that’s an expensive slice of portable gaming hardware (via Wccftech).

To be quite honest, it’s not an entirely surprising figure. Earlier leaks indicated the MSRP would be well north of $1,500, and a 32 GB/1 TB handheld with a brand spanking new (and presumably very performant, given my testing of the Arc B390) Panther Lake-based chip was always going to make for a pricey machine.

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Still, it didn’t stop me from sucking air through my teeth when I spotted the listing earlier today. However, if you’re really desperate for one, you could potentially save some cash at other retailers.

Best Buy also has a listing for the new handheld at $1,700, although as it’s currently unavailable, that could well go up by the time it’s actually in stock and ready to ship.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ handheld gaming PC

(Image credit: Future)

But honestly, this seems to be the pricing world we live in now when it comes to high-powered handhelds. Our best handheld gaming PC, the Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS, used to be a regular feature on our deals pages for around $750 to $800. Now you’ll find it listed for north of $1,500 at most retailers that still stock it.

As our Jacob Fox recently opined, handhelds have quickly reached a point where the average gamer will struggle to afford one, and the new Panther Lake offerings are expected to be very expensive across the board. At least looking in comparison to the pre-memory/everything else crisis pricing models.

It seems like only yesterday we were complaining that the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X had a ludicrous price tag at $1,000. As that MSRP is currently holding, it’s actually starting to look like a genuine value proposition less than a year after its launch. Especially when a Steam Deck OLED 1 TB with an ageing APU now costs a mere $50 less.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X handheld gaming PC

(Image credit: Future)

As convenient as handheld gaming PCs are, I’m really struggling to come to terms with these prices in regards to buying advice. While true portability and the option of playing your PC games comfortably in bed is a wonderful thing, it sure does come with a hefty premium these days.

Still, here’s hoping the new Claw is as good as our early impressions suggest. It’ll have to work pretty hard to justify this sort of cash, I can tell you that much for free.