That doesn’t make it any better

Whether or not it's better wasn't the question. The claim was that Microsoft was launching the product and being in charge of defining the price. They aren't because it's an Asus product with Xbox branding, just like https://www.8bitdo.com/ultimate-3-mode-controller-xbox/ is a regular 8bitdo controller with Xbox branding and not a Microsoft product.

That's all.

That’s almost worse, Asus also makes a lot of garbage.

That's not the point. The point is asking Microsoft about the price of a branded 3rd party product.

It’s both. It was co-developed by the companies.

No, the actual hardware wasn't. That's the point of the entire exercise to not develop the product in-house. Microsoft only develops Windows game mode. https://www.8bitdo.com/ultimate-3-mode-controller-xbox/ is not a Microsoft product (or "co-developed with Microsoft) either. It's yet another 3rd party product with Xbox branding and why would Microsoft have a say on the price then?

Well I hope Microsoft has next to no input on it then

Microsoft develops Windows game mode, so the user-facing bit of the system and of course such a major sponsor surely has general "don't do anything that hurts our brand" clauses in the contract with Asus but other than that there has been not a single piece of evidence that the handheld will be anything but a more high-profile version of https://www.8bitdo.com/ultimate-3-mode-controller-xbox/ which is also just branded 3rd party hardware. IMO there is a decent chance the identical hardware will also launch as a SteamOS version with the buttons then carrying Steam branding.