Is Motion Gaming Back?

Not quite. We've evolved it into Active Play—and this time, it’s built to last.

Motion games had their moment. Every major console maker joined the movement. PlayStation’s EyeToy, launched in 2003, sold over 10 million units. Nintendo’s Wii, launched in 2006, entered over 100 million living rooms worldwide and put Nintendo back on top. Then came Xbox Kinect in 2010—at its peak, Kinect made Xbox 360 the fastest-growing console and briefly became the fastest-selling consumer electronics device in history.

For a while, motion games were hailed as the future.

Then the music stopped.

They disappeared almost as quickly as they came. People remember them fondly, but their absence today leads many to believe they were just a fad.

“Get a Wii! Or a Kinect!”

We’ve seen it more times than we can count. Whenever our community posts videos of their family playing Nex Playground, someone inevitably comments:

“Just get a Wii!” (or Kinect!)

Can you still get one? Sure.
Are they cheaper than Nex Playground? Yep.
Do they have more games? They do.

But let’s be honest: you’re buying discontinued, secondhand devices and games from the internet. No warranty. No support. No updates. No new titles. No future roadmap.

Nostalgia? Absolutely.
A path forward? Not even close.

Why Did Motion Games Disappear?

I don’t pretend to know the internal strategies of companies many times our size. But here’s my honest take: the big three went back to serving their core audience—gamers who prioritize precise control above all else.

Motion games were seen as a novelty. And when the novelty wore off, game sales collapsed—and so did the developer ecosystem. No developers meant no new games. No new games meant no new customers. The hardware was discontinued.

It fizzled out like a fad. But they blazed a trail, leaving behind valuable lessons—and a gap for those who came after.

Why Did Nex Try Again?

Our customers aren’t core gamers. They’re families. And they want movement. They value it. They see it as essential, not a gimmick.

So yes, Nex is diving in again. With both feet.

But this time, we’re doing it differently—in three fundamental ways:

1. Technology that works.

The capabilities once pioneered for Apple’s breakthrough A12 Bionic chipset, originally designed for on-device AI, are now available at a family-friendly price point in Nex Playground. We run on-device AI that analyzes video at 30 frames per second. Its ultra-wide-angle camera sees the whole room. Our neural processing unit tracks body, face, and hand motion with high resolution—for up to four players at once.

No headsets. No sensors. No infrared bars. No depth camera.

Just software and AI models—constantly improving, without needing new hardware.

If there’s such a thing as the ultimate form of motion gaming, this is it.

The lesson? The tech wasn’t good or simple enough before. Now it is.

2. A business model that sustains development.

The old platforms crumbled because developers left. And they left because the economics didn’t work. Motion games were sold in boxes. Once the hype faded, the sales dried up. Innovation slowed. The market shrank. And the cycle collapsed.

That’s why Nex is built on a subscription model.

It’s harder—because trust is hard to earn. Consumers are naturally skeptical of subscriptions. And for a new company? We almost gave in. We’re glad we didn’t.

Families who loved us first told their friends. And year after year, we’ve earned the resources to keep building. Our game production budget has grown three years in a row—and it’s only going up.

Subscription isn’t just a pricing model—it’s a promise. A promise to keep showing up. To keep improving. To keep earning our place in your home.

With this model, we’ve created a flywheel that improves the product for every customer—new and existing—every day.

The lesson? The ecosystem died because it couldn’t sustain itself. Ours can.

3. A genuine focus on kids and families.

We didn’t start with core gamers—and that gave us freedom.
Freedom to start fresh.
Freedom to align every decision with the needs of families.

We build for and with the families who loved us first.

From industrial design to onboarding, from our operating system to our game catalog—every decision is made with our community in mind.

We prioritize safety, privacy, and security.
Our business model is simple and honest: no ads, no nags.

The lesson? Motion games for core gamers didn’t last. We’re building this from the ground up for families.

Nex Playground is an Active Play System

Industry veterans advised us to position Nex Playground as a “motion game console.”The category exists, they said. Why not just fill the gap?

But we think differently.

Playing games with motion? That’s a novelty.
Staying active? That’s a need.

Traditional “games” sometimes create tension in families.
But play? Play is essential.

“Console” is a device.
A system feels shared—like something meant to connect us.

We’re not just choosing different words.
We mean what we say.

We’re not console makers focused only on entertainment.
We’re toolmakers creating something useful, and deeply good—for kids, for parents, for families.

Motion gaming had its chance—and history made its call.

We’re building something new.
We call it Active Play.

And this time, we’re building it to stand the test of time.