Kids’ Favorite Console Faces Price Hike Due to RAM Shortage

The Nex Playground, a motion-control console designed for kids that gained massive popularity last year, is the latest gaming tech to announce a price hike due to the ongoing RAM shortage driven by AI hyperscalers expanding their data centers.

In an open letter on March 25, Nex’s CEO and co-founder David Lee revealed that starting next month, the Nex Playground will see a $50 price increase, raising its cost from $250 to $300. This marks the second price hike in under two years.

“We understand this isn’t the news anyone wants to hear, and we don’t take this decision lightly,” Lee stated in his message. He attributed the price increase to the global RAM crisis impacting tech products.

“Over the past six months, the costs of essential components—particularly memory (DDR) and storage (eMMC)—have surged across the industry,” Lee explained. “These hikes are partly due to the rapid growth of AI infrastructure, which is altering the global supply and demand for these components. You may have seen reports about the broader memory shortage. Like many consumer electronics companies, we’ve done our best to absorb these cost increases for as long as we could. However, at this point, it’s no longer sustainable for us to bear these costs alone.”

The new price will take effect on April 1, but the company will not be increasing the cost of its subscription service, which is similar to Game Pass. Lee expressed regret that this price adjustment might make the console “less accessible for some families.”

The Nex Playground operates without physical controls, allowing players to engage with games and menus through body movements, similar to the Xbox Kinect. Launched in 2023 at a price of $200, it initially saw slow sales, but during the 2024 holiday season, it went viral on TikTok and among online creators, leading to a sellout and a subsequent price increase to $250 in 2025. Last year, the Nex Playground even outsold the PS5 and Xbox for a brief period, with around 1 million units sold since its launch.

The ongoing RAM crisis has made it increasingly difficult for companies to obtain the necessary components for building game consoles, computers, and other tech devices. One PC parts manufacturer described 2026 as the “most challenging year” in its history due to the shortage.

This situation is largely fueled by AI hyperscalers and tech giants consuming PC parts to construct data centers, making it quite expensive and challenging for the average consumer to purchase PC RAM, graphics cards, or even SSDs for consoles. Prices for prebuilt PCs from manufacturers will also rise by 15 to 20 percent, according to industry reports.