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For a moment of wonder in obscenity, video games became a universal pursuit. When I saw my controller-phobic mother swinging a Wii far away from hitting tennis, where my grandmother clenched her fists at sudoku puzzles on her Nintendo DS, it seemed like my favorite thing for a long time. finally go mainstream. The Nintendo Wii flew off the shelves, and inspired competitors like the Xbox Kinect camera that encourages people to play games by moving their bodies. But the tide has turned: outside of the dull VR games and controller-waggler on the Switch, motion-controlled games haven’t appeared in more than a decade.
Now, after 20 years, a new contractor wants the whole family to appear on TV again: Nex Playground. Launching in the UK later this month, the first thing that struck me about the family-friendly device was how small it was. The size of two-and-a-half Rubik’s Cubes joined together, this device impressively replaces the complex controls of a camera-driven game, putting you and your family directly in the game. Using macro-micro lenses and advanced AI-driven technology, Nex Playground offers over 50 games that follow players’ bodies as they jump, dance and dance around the ballroom. It’s not hard to see the attraction.
Jumping through ruins in Peppa Pig: Jump and Jiggle, dancing in time to Rick Astley on Starri and slicing watermelons with my hands in the endless Fruit Ninja song, I’ve been impressed by how seamlessly the technology works – and with precision. I’ve seen this game generate cheers from a crowd of giggling kids at a press event at Nex and from me and my friend in our living room.
The Playground retails for £269 ($299) – the cheapest of any other game at the moment. But it comes with only five free games. Its entire library is locked behind an annual subscription of £90. In the age of free mobile games and the rising cost of living, you’d think there’s little room in the market for another premium box. But in the US, where it was launched in 2023, Playground has sold over a million units, selling Microsoft’s Xbox consoles during the Black Friday week of 2025.
“It was amazing to hear that we sold Xbox,” said Nex President Thomas Kang. “When we saw that story we were like, ‘Is this fake?!'” Nex may have beaten Xbox on their games (the device is similar to the Kinect camera controls that Microsoft abandoned in the 2010s), but Kang doesn’t see other games as direct competitors. “We’re not competing,” he said. We’re talking about sports and family entertainment … so I believe we’re a catalyst … and that we’re growing the sports market, rather than consuming everything.”
And time The most popular user-generated Roblox game has parents worried All over the world, Nex seems to care a lot about families’ trust. No camera data from Nex’s gaming sessions is stored – either online or offline – meaning families can embarrass themselves without worrying about an all-knowing tech company following their every move. “Safety is the first step,” says Kang.
Nex CEO and co-founder David Lee tells me that Playground started life as an AR basketball training app during the Covid pandemic. Users quickly abandoned his data for cutting basketball trees, but he prefers to play small games for the phone’s camera. Therefore, he set out to develop a contraption that would encourage children to be physically active. Lee said: “What parents want their children to experience is to prepare them for real life. We want to develop children’s curiosity, self-confidence and skills and prepare children for real sports.”
By partnering with NHL and US basketball players, as well as landing a contract at this year’s Wimbledon, Nex is betting that connecting with the world’s sport will make the cube no longer a magnet for expensive products. “For exercisers it can be strange, yes,” says Lee. “But for families, it’s the answer to the Friday night game, (or) to stay fit.”
Playground’s mini games are fun, and one new game or major update is promised every month. The question is, can Nex’s apps do enough to keep families playing — and paying? “Right now Play Pass is close to 90% renewals,” says Lee, “(our) customers are not in the habit of buying expensive games one by one. We don’t sell ads, we don’t buy in-app, so we will fix our socks to get another year of our customers staying on the platform.”
More online gamers are coming to the Playground soon, through parent-run “playdates,” and Lee hopes this will also help older family members stay connected to their families. “The purpose of that is to solve the problem of loneliness,” says Lee. “We want to create a place where grandparents can play with their grandchildren, even if they can’t be physically together. My mom lives in Hong Kong, and my daughters and I live in the Bay Area. FaceTime can take you so far.”
Game publishers who have previously developed Kinect and VR games are already coming to Nex, Kang says. Brands that focus on children such as Hasbro, DreamWorks and Mattel already have licensed games, perhaps seeing it as a safer alternative to social media and smartphones – a sentiment that many parents can share. The most family-friendly dedicated console currently available, Nintendo’s Switch 2, recently raised its price to £395.99, with new games at £50+ each; many families are looking for an affordable option. In an age where the game industry is creating 100-hour epics and multiplayer games, it’s fun to play with this, building on the excitement that the Wii introduced so many years ago.
