Nex Playground Delivers an Emotional Experience for Kids

If you had told me last year that the Nex Playground would outsell Microsoft’s Xbox, even for just a couple of weeks, I would have laughed. This tiny three-inch cube of a console is probably less powerful than your smartphone and relies on a single camera to track your movements. It only offers a selection of kid-friendly games that are curated for safety. While it draws comparisons to the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect, it falls short in motion tracking compared to both.

And it’s not exactly budget-friendly: it costs $250 upfront, plus an annual subscription of $89 or a quarterly fee of $49 to access more than just a basic selection. If you find a game you like, you can’t purchase it separately. Many titles feel like low-effort releases, and most lack the charm or polish found in Nintendo games or the best offerings from Apple Arcade.

Yet, when I was laid up in bed with a fever, my five-year-old was eager to play. We kicked off a game of virtual bowling, and even Grandpa, who usually stays out of the gaming scene, wanted to join in. “I want to try again!” exclaimed my nine-year-old after her plane met an unfortunate fate.

The quality of the games didn’t matter to them; what they loved was how easy it was to jump in and play without needing a controller or prior experience, all on a big screen. They enjoyed dancing, jumping, and swinging their arms around, especially when they saw me getting into it too.

However, I wish the games didn’t lead to tears. Nearly two decades ago, the Nintendo Wii introduced an infrared camera and accelerometer to track arm movements, while Microsoft’s Kinect took it a step further by capturing full-body movements without a controller, using infrared light to map your position in 3D space.

The Playground operates differently, using a single wide-angle camera and requiring only HDMI and USB-C power. However, it lacks true 3D depth perception, relying on flat images to estimate body positions.

Sometimes, it impresses: by recognizing just six joints—shoulders, elbows, and hands—you can roll a bowling ball down the lane or steer it left and right. But without depth perception, it can get confused easily. For instance, my nine-year-old couldn’t sit on the couch while my five-year-old bowled a few feet ahead, as the system mistook their limbs for one person. My youngest was upset for several minutes when her turn was accidentally taken.

Soon, it was my eldest’s turn to be frustrated when the system lost track of her hand mid-swing, sending her ball into the gutter. She was not pleased when it happened again.

There are numerous factors that can throw off single-camera tracking, and Nex is aware of this. They provide warnings like: avoid clothing with patterns, don’t wear long sleeves, play in a well-lit room but not backlit, and keep non-players out of the camera view.

These tips help the camera distinguish players from the background, but parents know some are easier said than done! Our kids usually play after their evening baths, which means they’re in PJs. Have you seen kids’ pajamas? They often have long sleeves and busy patterns—hearts, stars, smiley faces, and repeating designs of cats and unicorns.

We had to roll up sleeves and rethink our seating arrangements. In practice, “avoid non-players in the camera view” meant clearing the living room of anyone not bowling, making them stand far off to the side to prevent the camera from mistakenly tracking the wrong person mid-game. Sometimes we could sit on the couch with our hands hidden behind blankets or laptops.

Even with these adjustments, my kids often grew frustrated with the controls. “I can’t keep my hand steady! I just can’t keep it steady!” my five-year-old lamented while trying to send her puppy for a spa treatment in a game reminiscent of Nintendogs. Many games don’t penalize wild arm movements, but some require precise cursor control to hit virtual buttons.

It also feels like the Playground lags behind my movements, even when connected to a low-latency OLED TV with Game Mode activated. In the kart racing game, I struggled to turn the steering wheel as quickly as I wanted in the fastest mode.

Still, these issues didn’t stop us from having fun, especially with games that don’t demand precision. The kids loved Mirrorama, which transforms the TV into a giant mirror with magical filters that let them shoot lightning bolts, stretch their faces, and dance with their own clones.

They also enjoyed Copy Cat, where they struck silly poses for AI to judge. I found Brick Buster to be a solid Breakout clone—just move your body left or right to control a generously sized paddle, and the thrilling multiball action keeps it exciting.

However, I can’t say we’re getting our money’s worth, as many games are overly simplistic or frustratingly repetitive. Sports games often feel either too easy or have a steep learning curve due to the camera’s inability to perceive depth, making it hard to aim. For instance, in tennis, you can’t direct your swing with your arm; you have to move your whole body to aim.

One of Nex’s big selling points is its partnerships with popular kid brands like Bluey, Peppa Pig, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But my kids weren’t completely sold.

While they were initially excited about Unicorn Academy, they quickly lost interest when they realized they couldn’t explore interesting areas on their unicorn. The TMNT game turned out to be a frustrating endless runner, requiring constant jumping to avoid obstacles, though it might help tire them out. Even with their love for Bluey, they soon asked to stop playing its repetitive balloon-bouncing game.

There’s enough variety in the Playground’s library that your kids will likely find something they enjoy. My eldest is eager to visit her puppy again, and my youngest cheered at dinner when we mentioned bowling. Despite the tracking issues, they consider Nex’s Flappy Bird clone, where up to four players hop to keep their dragons fed, one of their favorites.

I think the Playground is overpriced for what it offers, but it shows that fun doesn’t always hinge on execution quality. Many classic arcade games can be frustratingly unfair, yet sometimes you just want another shot at beating the machine.