Nex Playground Game Console Could Be This Holiday’s Hottest Tech Toy

The Nex Playground has caught the Internet's attention this holiday season, and it may just prove to be the sleeper hit of this console generation. Since Nintendo Wii made motion controls mainstream with its release in November 2006, motion controls have developed significantly but with mixed reception. Xbox 360 soon received a motion-tracking Kinect camera accessory, but Kinect underperformed in the console market on both 360 and Xbox One (where it was a forced launch inclusion). These days, Nintendo Switch (2) Joy-Cons and Virtual Reality headsets with wireless controllers are the two de facto methods of motion controls in modern games, with even basic gyro controls rarely supported on PlayStation 5 despite the controller supporting gyro. Xbox has long abandoned motion entirely, though Steam Controllers & Input on PC have shown plenty of enthusiasm for gyro elsewhere.


Nex Playground is essentially a standalone Kinect, down to the motion-sensitive camera in place of handheld controls. But unlike the Kinect, it's not shipping with a console primarily geared toward fans of first-person shooters like Halo or Call of Duty. Nex Playground is advertised as a family-first console, and has licensed games from a number of family-friendly brands, including Bluey and Peppa Pig, to back it up. It has an MSRP of $249.99, but goes on sale semi-frequently throughout the year.

The system isn't breaking down any doors for the industry at large. Technically, it's nothing we haven't seen before. But on Black Friday 2026, the console did outsell any single Xbox console (not combining Series S/Series X) and was the #3 best-selling SKU overall, just behind the Nintendo Switch 2 and the PlayStation 5 Pro. That's astoundingly good performance for a machine like this from a lesser-known brand, though other factors (like a much lower base price point) likely have contributed to this success.

For casual gamers or health-focused gamers who don't want to spend $300+ on a standalone VR headset or a Nintendo console with extra peripherals and games, the Nex Playground offers a strong value. It ships with 5 games, including Fruit Ninja, and opting into its Play Pass for as low as $49 per 3 months grants you access to the entire catalog, no Xbox-esque tiering to be seen. 

At time of writing, Nex Playground is just $199.99 from Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. For people who want a modern platform with these kinds of games, a standalone VR headset, Switch, and Switch 2 all cost much more. How bitterly ironic that Xbox Series X would be outsold by what is effectively a Kinect.