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Nex’s $250 Playground Rides Holiday Surge as CEO Pushes Subscription Model and Review Flags Tracking Limits

The company is prioritizing affordability with recurring revenue to avoid the Wii-era software slump.

Overview

  • CEO David Lee says the compact, controller-free console intentionally targets PS3-level graphics to keep costs down while using a single camera that tracks up to four people.
  • Nex’s Play Pass offers access to the full library on three- or twelve-month terms to counter low attach rates seen with Wii-era casual audiences and to enable more experimental games.
  • Retail data cited in coverage shows the Playground captured roughly 14% of US console sales during Black Friday week, ranking ahead of Xbox Series X/S in that window.
  • One outlet reports about 600,000 units sold this year, a figure not independently verified and attributed to a single secondary report.
  • A new hands-on from The Verge praises the pick-up-and-play appeal for kids but finds the single-camera system suffers depth-perception and mis-tracking issues that can frustrate gameplay.