Sorry MSI, but you blew it – the Claw A8 is overpriced and could struggle to compete against cheaper rivals like the Steam Deck

• New pre-order listings for the MSI Claw A8 have appeared at European retailers online
• The prices suggest the Claw A8 will cost just under $1,000 / £1,000, similar to the Claw 8 AI+
• It may be a tough sell, in the same vein as its Claw 8 AI+ counterpart

Handheld PC gamers have been eagerly awaiting the debut of AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, which promises enhanced portable gaming performance. Fortunately, the MSI Claw A8 is officially the first to launch using the powerful chip, but early listings indicate an unsightly price tag.

As reported by VideoCardz, European retailers have pre-orders available for the MSI Claw A8, with listings indicating a price tag in the same ballpark as the MSI Claw 8 AI+. On Alza.de, it's available for €976 (excluding tax, €820). There are still no listings in the US or UK, so it's not exactly clear what the final price tags will be – but all signs point towards a price tag just under $1,000 / £1,000.

Based on early benchmarks, the Claw A8's performance is very similar to the Claw 8 AI+'s, which uses the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor. As evident below (thanks to Lines Tech on YouTube), Shadow of the Tomb Raider has an average of 52fps at 1080p on the Claw 8 AI+, while the Claw A8 has an average of 49fps at 1080p on the same graphics settings.

Whether this comes down to the Claw A8's Ryzen Z2 Extreme being slightly weaker than the Core Ultra 7 258V, or the former's 24GB of RAM (which is strangely 16GB of RAM in the benchmark video) instead of 32GB, isn't clear just yet. However, it looks set to be priced just slightly under the MSI Claw 8 AI+ ($900 / £899 / AU$1,799), and that's not a good look.

Analysis: If the MSI Claw 8 AI+ at $899 is a hard sell, then so is the MSI Claw A8

Having finally used the MSI Claw 8 AI+ (review coming soon), it's easily one of the best handhelds of this generation with solid gaming performance.

Unfortunately, though, it's still a very hard sell at $899 / £899 / AU$1,799. If the Claw A8 with less RAM alongside a potentially weaker processor for gaming performance is at the same price or only slightly cheaper, then I doubt it will compete well in the handheld market.

Again, I must stress that there aren't any UK or US listings for the MSI Claw A8, but the price at European retailers gives us a strong idea of what they could be. It's also worth noting that tariffs on China goods will likely affect pricing, as we've already seen with the MSI Claw 8 AI+, so it could place the new Claw in a weaker position on the market.

While the Steam Deck OLED is a weaker handheld performance-wise, it still offers enough for a great portable gaming experience at $549 / £479 / AU$899. That's also in the same region as the Asus ROG Ally at $649.99 / £599 (currently $449.99 on sale) using the Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

If the Z2 Extreme doesn't prove to be a huge jump from its predecessor, then I can't see the new Claw A8 outselling its Claw 8 AI+ counterpart – especially, if stock and availability issues arise.

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