A Kinect‑style console outsold Xbox, and Nex’s CEO breaks down the strategy that made it a surprise hit — “Nintendo expanded the audience”

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The Nex Playground, a motion-sensing device similar to the Kinect or Wii, recently became surprisingly popular in the U.S. – it actually sold more units than Xbox consoles in November. This is noteworthy, especially considering the big shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday often heavily influence console sales.

With Xbox sales lagging, the Nex Playground managed to surpass the Xbox Series X|S in monthly unit sales, likely because of its lower price of $250.

This device really highlights how Microsoft sometimes fails to see the bigger picture. The decisions to discontinue Windows Phone – which could have boosted their overall services – and to shut down Cortana, a pioneering voice assistant, now seem like big mistakes. Looking back, these feel like missed chances to create something truly powerful.

Nex CEO says Wii lessons and subscriptions are key

Nex CEO David Lee recently told The Game Business that his company studied both the success of Nintendo’s Wii and its eventual struggles. While the Wii was great at attracting new gamers, Lee pointed out that many of these players didn’t buy many games beyond a few initial titles, which ultimately created problems for the platform’s long-term viability. Lee then continued by saying…

The Wii brought in a lot of new players, but this created a challenge. These new players often only wanted a few specific games like Wii Fit and Wii Sports, and weren’t interested in many other titles.

David Lee, CEO of NEX

Building on this, Lee added:

Simply having a platform where people occasionally buy a few games isn’t enough to keep things going long-term. It just isn’t a viable business model.

David Lee, CEO of NEX

Nex Playground has become popular with kids, featuring games inspired by well-known characters and brands like Bluey, Peppa Pig, and Fruit Ninja.

You can get into that game library with Play Pass, a subscription that gives you access to more and more games for a monthly fee. It’s similar to Xbox Game Pass, but Play Pass is designed specifically for families and kids, not all gamers.

Oh, how this could have been Kinect

As we noted earlier, Microsoft sometimes seems to miss opportunities. It’s easy to picture a different path where they’d focused the Kinect on families, broadening the appeal of the Xbox long before they defined what an Xbox actually *was*.

Kinect was stopped in 2017, proving Microsoft can’t predict the future. Looking back, it seems like ending Kinect might have been a quick decision. It’s especially frustrating because Microsoft now appears to be pursuing the very ideas Nex Playground had, as Lee points out:

It would be great if there would be a Playground in every living room.

David Lee, CEO of NEX

According to Nex’s CEO, the console’s popularity wasn’t due to luck. In a gaming world often focused on powerful technology, its unique design—similar to the Kinect—showed that there’s still a place for hardware that welcomes everyone, not just those seeking top-of-the-line specs.

It’s unclear if this approach would work now, but the PlayStation’s surprising success against Xbox shows that unconventional strategies can lead to major victories, especially when you don’t just follow the usual console competition.

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2025-12-20 18:41