A 'Box That Looks Like the OUYA and Kinect Had a Kid' Outsold the PS5 in the US the Week Before Thanksgiving

The vacation play is simply a clip wherever we typically expect to spot a superior surge successful video crippled and console sales, for reasonably evident reasons. Normally, that means tons of PlayStations, Switches, and Xboxes are going location successful people's buying carts. But recently, there's different gaming strategy that's giving the different console offerings a tally for their sales. Have you heard of...the NEX Playground?

If you're not a parent, chances are, you haven't. The NEX Playground has really been retired for a while, having launched successful 2023. Described arsenic a successor to (of each things) the Kinect, this cube-shaped container uses AI-powered question tracking to let users to play motion-controlled games, mostly geared toward kids. It comes bundled with 5 games (Fruit Ninja, Starri, Party Fowl, Whac-a-Mole, and Go Keeper), and you tin get much by subscribing to "Play Pass", which costs $89 per twelvemonth oregon $49 for 3 months.

The NEX Playground was already a beauteous blistery acquisition for kids past holiday. It's elemental to usage - virtually plug successful and play - and doesn't necessitate families to person immoderate existing cognition of video games oregon consoles oregon the tech associated with them. And it seems aft a twelvemonth of caller crippled releases based connected fashionable IPs, it whitethorn beryllium adjacent bigger this year. Through the Play Pass, you tin present get entree to games specified arsenic Bluey Bust-a-Move, How to Train Your Dragon Riders of the Skies, Peppa Pig Jump & Giggle, aggregate Sesame Street games, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Rooftop Mayhem, and more. Though mostly focused connected children's games, determination are besides games similar Zumba Fitness Party, Mingle (a lucifer and merge puzzle game), and a fewer others that mightiness besides entreaty to adults. All question controlled.

That perchance explains wherefore it's already selling truthful well, adjacent earlier Black Friday week. According to Circana expert Mat Piscatella connected Bluesky, the NEX Playground was the 2nd best-selling hardware successful the US for the week ending November 22, trailing lone the Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World bundle, and beating the PS5 Slim successful 3rd place. As Piscatella enactment it, "Anyways, a container that looks similar the OUYA and Kinect had a kid has 82% 5 prima reviews astatine Target, and a 4.7 wide standing with 2.5k reviews connected Amazon."

Speaking to IGN implicit nonstop message, Piscatella elaborated conscionable however good the NEX was doing.

"NEX US portion income are up 3,384% compared to past twelvemonth for the YTD play ending Nov 22nd, 2025," helium said. "It's the starring merchandise for the twelvemonth successful the Plug-N-Play hardware conception (which besides includes products similar the My Arcade Gamestation Pro Atari, Game & Watch, and backmost successful the time included things similar the NES Classic and Sega Genesis Mini...) but ranks 5th wide connected a level ground successful YTD [year-to-date] units (behind Switch 2, PS5, XBS and Switch). Sales of NEX person picked up steam implicit the past accidental 5 weeks oregon so, acknowledgment to (what looks like) accrued organisation astatine retailers similar Target, immoderate further selling programs and radical archer maine TikTok."

Piscatella went connected to archer maine that this is the archetypal clip he's seen a plug-and-play instrumentality similar this get adjacent to this benignant of ranking. He suggested the NES Classic mightiness person been a noteworthy seller, but doesn't person play information going backmost that far. But helium besides clarified that helium doesn't deliberation this means the NEX volition overtake immoderate of the console giants successful yearly income - helium expects it to stay astatine the aforesaid fertile (5th) done the extremity of the year. So unluckily we won't person immoderate weird plug-and-play upsets successful Circana's yearly report. But you'll inactive astir apt spot a batch of these astir erstwhile you're doing your vacation buying successful the coming weeks.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].