Highlights
- Nex Playground jumped ahead of Xbox in U.S. weekly sales during Black Friday, ranking second and third in hardware unit sales across late November, according to Circana data.
- A $199 Black Friday price cut drove the surge, with Xbox prices unchanged and wide retail and social commerce exposure boosting demand.
- Nex is now on track to sell about 600K units this year, marking a sharp turnaround for the company after years as a loss-making sports app startup.
The Nex Playground, a motion-based gaming console designed for families, posted a rare breakout during the Black Friday period, briefly surpassing Xbox in weekly U.S. hardware sales. According to Circana, the device placed second in weekly unit sales ending Nov. 22 and third the following week ending Nov. 28, after barely registering in industry tracking earlier this fall.
The rise caught analysts and competitors off guard, with the console absent from Circana’s standard market commentary as recently as October. “To be completely honest, I didn’t know this thing existed a month ago,” Circana video game analyst Mat Piscatella said, underscoring how quickly it entered the national conversation.
Holiday pricing drove the surge, with Nex cutting the Playground from $249 to $199 for Black Friday as Microsoft left Xbox prices unchanged. Broad placement across major retailers and social commerce platforms further boosted demand during the peak shopping window.
Nex Playground Sales Growth Highlights an Unlikely Hardware Breakout
The sales trajectory underscores how sharp the shift has been. Nex sold more than 300K units in the 12 days leading up to Nov 22, and is now on pace to reach around 600K units for the year. That compares with roughly 150K units sold last year and about 5K units two years ago.
The growth marks a turnaround for Nex, a Silicon Valley startup that spent years focused on an AI-powered basketball shot-tracking app, HomeCourt, before pivoting to consumer hardware. Prior to the shift, the company generated about $3 million USD in annual revenue and operated at a loss.
For 2025, Nex projects more than $150M in sales and expects to break even for the first time.
The Playground sets itself apart by using a built-in camera to track player movement, allowing users to control games through physical activity rather than handheld controllers.
Nex has positioned the system toward households with young children, emphasizing active play over traditional gaming habits. “A single male with no kids? I’m not trying to sell this to you,” said Alex Wu, the company’s vice president of strategy and partnerships.
That focus fueled demand through parent networks, social media, and licensed children’s content, leading to temporary sellouts during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and continued limited availability into the new year.
Despite being driven by discounts and seasonal buying, the performance points to sustained interest in family-focused gaming hardware breaking through a market dominated by established consoles.
