Nex Playground shakes up holiday toy market

A pastel-colored block that looks more like home decor than a gaming device has turned into one of America’s hottest toys.

The Nex Playground, an active gaming system, sold out at Walmart, Target, and Best Buy and topped Amazon’s Toys & Games chart on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year.

The user’s body movements control the video game console.

The Silicon Valley startup behind it began nearly a decade ago with an AI-powered basketball shot-tracking app. 

After several failed pivots, the company made a risky leap from software to consumer hardware, despite having little experience with manufacturing or supply chains. It nearly ran out of cash before delivering its first console in time for the 2023 holidays.

The $249 Playground, paired with an $89 annual subscription, targets families with young children rather than traditional gamers. 

A built-in camera tracks hand and body movements, turning games into full-body activities.

Parents embraced the concept, helping sales surge from about 5,000 units two years ago to roughly 150,000 last year. This year, the company expects to sell 600,000 units and projects more than $150 million in revenue.

Demand overwhelmed forecasts, pushing the Playground briefly ahead of Xbox in US hardware unit sales.