At the moment handheld gaming PCs finally matured into capable, beloved machines, a global RAM shortage has begun pricing them beyond the reach of the consumers who made them meaningful. Devices that once promised portable gaming for a few hundred dollars now carry four-figure price tags, as memory costs — a disproportionately large share of a handheld's total bill — have more than doubled in a single cycle. With RAM manufacturers sold out through 2027, the industry faces a quiet existential question: whether a category born from accessibility can survive becoming a luxury.