Xbox Falls Behind Nex Playground as Motion Gaming Makes a Comeback

In a surprising turn of events for the gaming industry, Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S was outsold by a relatively unknown console during the critical Black Friday shopping week. The Nex Playground, a family-focused device that utilizes motion controls, captured a larger slice of the US market than the gaming giant, signalling a dramatic shift in holiday buying habits for 2025.

According to new data from industry tracking firm Circana for the week ending Nov 29, the sales hierarchy painted a surprising picture. The PlayStation 5 continued its dominance, securing a massive 47% of all hardware unit sales in the United States. It was followed by the newly released Nintendo Switch 2, which grabbed 24% of the market. However, the real shock came in third place. 

The Nex Playground claimed a solid 14% of total unit sales, pushing Xbox out of the top three entirely. This data implies that Microsoft's consoles captured less than 14% of the market share during one of the biggest shopping weeks of the year.

The Nex Playground is an Android-powered device that launched in 2023. It features a motion-sensing camera that allows players to use their bodies to control games, eliminating the need for traditional controllers, much like the original Xbox Kinect did over a decade ago. 

Nex Playground’s Surge in Popularity

Retailing at around $250 but often dipping below $200 on discount, the system targets families with titles like Fruit Ninja, Bluey, and Peppa Pig. This Black Friday victory wasn't an isolated incident. The Nex Playground had already shown signs of a surge, notably beating the PlayStation 5 in sales during the prior week ending Nov 22, where it topped charts behind only Nintendo's bundle. 

With demand surging, Nex Playground surpassed 250,000 units sold by August 2025 since its nationwide retail launch in 2024. This growth suggests that parents prioritized affordable, active, and family-friendly gaming experiences over high-fidelity graphics this season.

Journalist Rob Fahey noted in a GamesIndustry.biz feature that the device is a "smart play for an industry blind spot." He explained that the console’s stroke of genius lies in taking one of Nintendo's foundational ideas, building cheap, accessible devices using dated hardware, and using it to wedge itself into a market segment that other platform holders have either abandoned or simply forgotten about.

While the specific rise of the Nex Playground was a US phenomenon, Microsoft faced similar struggles in regaining market share in the UK. The PlayStation 5 was the clear winner of Black Friday 2025 in the region, taking 62% of the market, driven by aggressive pricing that saw the standard console discounted by 21% and the Digital version by 34%.

The Nintendo Switch 2 took a 23% share, while the Xbox Series S and X accounted for just 10% of the market. Ultimately, the data serves as a wake-up call, highlighting that high specs and Game Pass subscriptions aren't the only things consumers want; sometimes, a simple box that lets kids jump around the living room is enough to beat a tech giant.