Review: The Nex Playground Game System is a rainy-day lifesaver for parents

21 Sep 2024, 22:00 by Savannah Howe · Android Police

Video games and children — how should they mix, if at all? The right answer varies by parent, child, and video game. While I might not want to raise a Call of Duty kid, I also understand that video games are just an integrated part of being a child in the 21st century. But finding a happy medium is tough.

I always thought Nintendo got it right with the Wii, but that console was put to pasture far before it should've been. I played a ton of Wii growing up and hoped to see it resurrected someday for my kids. Or something similar, at least — a console that encourages off-the-couch movement, with tons of family-friendly IP. The Nex Playground is the closest I've seen to the Wii's second coming. It's a controller-free video game console (tailored to kids aged five years and up) that uses an offline closed-system interface, so parents know exactly what their kids are playing.

Nex Playground

7.5 / 10

The Nex Playground console is arguably one of the most exciting pieces of kid-oriented technology out there. It uses motion-tracking technology to offer movement-focused, thoughtfully curated games to kids from five to preteens and their parents. However, the Playground has one major drawback: a very small collection of core games. Its game library is rented on an annual or quarterly basis. And the fee? Not cheap.

Pros

Kid-friendly games with familiar characters, like Peppa Pig and Sesame Street
Local multiplayer, no online chats to worry about
No controls to break or lose track of

Cons

Might lose appeal for kids 8+ years old
Expensive game library rental
May not work in some living rooms

$200 at Amazon $200 at Nex

Price, availability, and specs

The Nex Playground's $200 MSRP includes the console, power cord, a camera privacy lens, and an HDMI cord. Full game access comes in two payment options: $90 per year or $50 per quarter. Right now, the only places you'll find the Playground are Amazon or Nex itself.

Specifications

4K Capability
No
Power Source
AC wired
What's Included
Console, HDMI cable, power cable, camera privacy shutter
Brand
Nex
Screen
None
Charging Time
N/A
Operating system
PlayOS
Expand

What’s good about the Nex Playground?

Easy to use, consistent, and lots of IP for five to seven-year-olds

The Nex Playground was a blast for my family. My five-year-old, in particular, was thrilled with the familiar faces in the console's game library, like Peppa Pig and Elmo. Unlike handheld consoles and kids' tablets, playing games as a family was way easier and actually enjoyable for adults. Many of the titles are familiar, party-style games suitable for everyone, like Hungry Hungry Hippos and Whack-a-Mole.

Across all the games we tested, the instructions were clear and easy to follow for young children, but there was some fun to be had for adults, too. From bowling to tennis to soccer, the sports titles in the Nex library were particularly effective at keeping the adults in the house preoccupied. There's also NexGym, the console's more intensive workout-focused app rated for kids 12 years old and above, offering short body-weight workouts.

The Playground's free set includes five games: Fruit Ninja, Whack-a-Mole, Party Fowl, Go Keeper (a soccer fitness game), and Starri. Starri is probably the most advanced title in the catalog currently, a Dance Dance Revolution/Just Dance-type game that requires precise limb movements to match a musical beat.

In every case (besides an initial poor setup, which I discuss below), the Playground, which uses an AI-powered camera and 18-point motion tracking, consistently recognized and recorded our movements. Whether my five-year-old was playing solo or the whole family was, the console proved capable of accurately mapping movement during play. I was skeptical of how well this would work without remotes but ultimately ended up surprised.

Simple, cute design that says "I'm a kid-friendly console"

The Nex Playground is compact and colorful, barely larger than a standard Rubik's cube, with teal and yellow accents on both the console and accompanying remote. Both devices have minimal features; on the console, there's the power and HDMI input, the camera, and a power indicator light. The remote is equally minimalist and easy for children to operate, with buttons for selection, navigation, back, and home.

I like that the Playground has a privacy lens that magnetically pops onto the camera when the device isn't in use. Privacy shutters are a nice feature to see in any camera-based indoor tech, like the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera. It's a thoughtful nod to parents' heightened privacy concerns when it comes to kid-tailored tech. If Nex considers a second generation of this console, an automatic shutter that closes when the Playground powers down would be even better.

Privacy is a nonnegotiable with the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera

A trusted puppy/nanny/vacay cam

What’s bad about the Nex Playground?

The game library is (almost) entirely rented, and it's expensive

The Nex Playground only has one notable flaw: the recurring cost. There's also some fine print to consider before purchasing it, but these are the implications of any console or TV using a motion-tracking camera for video games — which are only bound to get more popular from here.

What the Playground needs to thrive

Before investing in the Nex Playground, it's important to ensure the device can fully function in the intended space. I first planned to try the Playground in my primary living room, which is a long, narrow space where the couch is only about 5.5 feet from the TV stand, where the console sat. Additionally, there's a window behind the couch, and the blinds are almost always open. This setup did not work for the Playground. There's not enough room to fully capture players' feet or hands when reaching upwards, especially if adults play. The light from the window also tampered with the Playground's motion tracking and real-time depiction of players on the screen.

After moving the console to a secondary living room with much more space and different lighting conditions, all issues were immediately rectified. You should be able to stand at least 6 to 7 feet away from the Playground to give it the best chance at working properly. Ambient light from other windows isn't an issue; it's when daylight is directly behind the players that the console struggles.

I understand that simply moving the console to another living room isn't something every family can do, so double-check that these conditions can be met before you spend a lot of money to be disappointed.

The game library's cost contradicts its limited scope

Speaking of money, a couple of hundred bucks isn't an outrageous ask for a video game console, but the Playground costs more than the $200 on its price tag. Unless your kids will stay content with the console's five free games (they won't), expect to pay $50 quarterly or $90 annually for access to the Playground's full library.

Even considering how much my family really enjoyed the Playground and its full library, I can't get behind this approach. If I chose the quarterly fee, plus the upfront purchase, I would have put $600 into this console after three years.

There are so many ways the game library could be made more financially feasible:

Outright game ownership. Just like with any other game console, you buy the title, and it's yours for eternity.
Subscriptions to specific genres, like puzzles or sports, for less money.
True library-style rentals. Wait lists, checking games out and returning them within a certain time window, and optional purchasing for faster access.
Renting to a certain capacity at a lower price tier. For example, paying to access up to five game titles per month or playing for up to 20 hours per month.
Ads. I cringed when I added this option, but some kids may only be able to access the Playground library through a free or very low-cost subscription supported by advertisements.

Should you buy it?

It's a luxury, but a really fun one

Despite my criticism of the Playground's pricing structure, I also understand that fair pricing is more of a suggestion when you're the only seller in the market. There's not really anything else like the Nex Playground right now. You could go on the thrift hunt for a Nintendo Wii or an Xbox Kinect, but it's been over a decade since both consoles were discontinued. Their availability, condition, operation, and support are likely to be scant or completely absent.

Functionally speaking, the Nex Playground is a great product. Its AI-powered motion tracking is consistent and reliable, and the system is well-built overall from a hardware perspective.

The small game library, with few IPs that would excite kids over 8-ish years old, offers a nice family-friendly variety, covering fitness, puzzles, and arcade-style games. While a console like this is certainly cheaper than high-end immersive gaming like the Apple Vision Pro, the price is still one of its biggest setbacks. The $90 yearly commitment to accessing the games, though, is likely to make parents hesitate, and rightly so. By adding either outright game ownership or multiple subscription tiers, the Nex Playground could shake some of the sticker shock and make its case to more parents.

Nex Playground

7.5 / 10

The Nex Playground's upfront and recurring costs are the biggest drawback to this console, but that aside, the Playground brings countless hours of family fun.

$200 at Amazon $200 at Nex

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