Lenovo Legion Go S price jumps hard, and Malaysia’s handheld PC fans should probably be worried
Lenovo’s Legion Go S is suddenly looking like one of the clearest examples of the current gaming hardware price mess.
According to new retailer listings highlighted by The Verge, the most desirable version of the 8-inch handheld, the SteamOS model with AMD’s Z1 Extreme chip, has shot up from US$829.99 at launch last summer to US$1,579.99 at Best Buy. Yeah bro, that is not a small adjustment, that is a proper sticker shock moment.
And it is not just one weird listing.
Other Legion Go S variants have also climbed well above their original prices. The Windows Z1 Extreme version is now listed at US$1,679.99, although it is also shown as being “on sale” for US$1,049.99. Over at B&H, that same model is listed at US$1,299.99.
Even the weaker Z2 Go version has not escaped. That model launched at US$599.99, but it is now showing up at roughly US$1,000 at Best Buy, US$1,049 at Lenovo, and US$1,199 at Walmart for the Windows variant. There is still apparently a SteamOS Z2 Go unit on Amazon for US$714, but the original report makes it pretty clear that even that price is hard to recommend.
Not just a Lenovo problem, but Lenovo looks especially rough
What makes this stand out is that competing handhelds have not moved the same way, at least for now. The Verge notes you can still find the Asus Xbox Ally X for US$999 and the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus for US$1,049.
That comparison matters, because Lenovo’s pricing now makes the Legion Go S feel less like a value alternative and more like a product that has lost the plot.
It is also worth noting this is apparently an even steeper jump than Lenovo’s Legion Go 2, which reportedly saw price increases of up to US$650 earlier this month.
Is Lenovo quietly killing this version?
Lenovo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But based on the disappearing listings, The Verge suspects the company may be quietly winding down this version of the Legion Go S as the wider memory shortage keeps hitting gaming hardware.
That theory does not come out of nowhere. Multiple listings for different configurations have reportedly vanished from retailers and from Lenovo’s own site. On top of that, Lenovo’s website is said to be starting to label the device as the “Lenovo Legion Go S Gen 1.” That could point to a newer version on the way, though nothing has been confirmed.
Why Malaysian and SEA gamers should care
For readers here in Malaysia and across SEA, this is the kind of story that matters even if you were not planning to buy a Legion Go S specifically.
Handheld gaming PCs are already expensive once you factor in local retail markups, reseller pricing, shipping, and regional availability. When US prices jump this badly, that pressure usually does not magically disappear by the time products reach our side of the world. If anything, it can get uglier.
For Malaysian buyers, this also affects the usual “wait for sale or import” strategy. A handheld that looked semi-reasonable at launch can suddenly end up in gaming laptop territory. At that point, a lot of people are going to start comparing it against better-known options, or just stick with a desktop upgrade, a console, or a Steam Deck alternative.
The bigger concern is the trend behind it. The current global RAM shortage has already been linked to price hikes across several devices. The Verge points to the Quest 3 going up by US$100, the PS5 getting a price increase, and ongoing pressure on hardware like the Steam Deck. On the bright side, Asus rep Anthony Spence reportedly said there is no US price increase on the horizon for the Xbox Ally X, and that was still true at the time of reporting.
So if you are in Malaysia or SEA and you have been eyeing a gaming handheld, this is probably the time to watch pricing very carefully before panic-buying anything. The Legion Go S may still be interesting hardware, but at these numbers, the value story is basically gone.
Source: The Verge Gaming
