Gaming has become isolating and sedentary. Nex gets people active and social.
Motion gaming, once a cultural phenomenon with the Wii and Kinect before fading into the margins, is being quietly revived by Nex Playground — a camera-based, AI-powered console arriving in the UK and Ireland this June. Built around the body as its own controller, the device asks a quiet but meaningful question: in an age of increasingly solitary, screen-bound play, is there still hunger for games that pull families into the same room, moving and laughing together? Nex is betting the answer is yes, and it is bringing familiar classics along to make the case.
- Motion gaming has been dormant for years, reduced to a footnote on modern consoles — Nex Playground arrives in late June as the first dedicated motion-first device in a long time, targeting UK and Irish families.
- The console briefly outsold Xbox during US Black Friday sales, signalling unexpected demand for a device most people have never heard of.
- Nex is quietly negotiating with multiple unannounced IP partners to bring beloved Wii and Kinect-era games back to life on the new platform, preserving what made them work originally.
- Rather than competing with PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo, Nex positions itself as a complementary device — no controllers, no open online chat, and motion data that never leaves the hardware itself.
- The company frames its mission as a cultural correction: reversing gaming's drift toward isolation and sedentary play by making physical, in-person fun the entire point.
Motion gaming has had a strange life. It arrived with EyeToy, exploded with the Nintendo Wii, got a second act with Microsoft's Kinect, and then largely disappeared. For years it has been an afterthought — a minor Switch feature, nothing more. No major manufacturer has built a dedicated motion-first console in a long time.
That changes in late June when Nex Playground launches in the UK and Ireland. The device is built around a fixed camera that reads your body's movements without any controller at all — you are the controller. The AI-powered technology tracks position and motion in real time, designed for families who want to play together in the same room, moving and laughing rather than hunched over a screen.
Nex has already built momentum in the US, briefly outselling Xbox during Black Friday. Now, with UK and Ireland pre-orders live, the company is preparing its European pitch — and part of that pitch involves something familiar. Classic games from the Wii and Kinect era are coming to the platform. President Tom Kang told Indy100 that multiple unannounced IP partnerships are in the works, while CEO David Lee emphasised that the goal is to bring these older games over authentically, preserving what made them resonate in the first place.
Nex is careful not to frame itself as a rival to the major consoles. "We are a complementary device with different use cases focused on a specific audience in kids and families," Kang said. The games are built around physical activity and social play — the qualities that made the Wii a phenomenon. Lee noted the approach makes gaming more accessible to family members who would never pick up a traditional controller.
Safety is built into the architecture. Nex runs a closed ecosystem with limited leaderboards and no open online communication. Crucially, all motion-tracking data stays on the device itself and never leaves — a deliberate choice for a platform aimed at children. "Trust and safety is paramount in everything we do," Kang said.
The comparisons to the Wii and Kinect are unavoidable, and Nex isn't trying to avoid them. Those consoles brought millions of people into gaming who might never have touched a controller otherwise. Nex is betting that appetite still exists — that families still want reasons to gather in one room and play without barriers. The real question is whether the market has space for a device that does one thing very well, in an era when consoles try to do everything.
Motion gaming has had a peculiar arc. It arrived quietly with EyeToy, crested with the Nintendo Wii's explosion into living rooms everywhere, got a second wind when Microsoft's Kinect brought it to a new generation, and then largely vanished. For years now, motion controls have been an afterthought—a minor feature on the Nintendo Switch, not a central draw. No major console manufacturer has built a dedicated motion-first device in a long time.
That changes in late June when Nex Playground arrives in the UK and Ireland. The console is built around a simple idea: a fixed camera that reads your body's movements without requiring any controller at all. You are the controller. The technology is AI-powered, tracking your position and motion in real time, and it's designed specifically for families and children who want to play together in the same room, moving and sweating and laughing, rather than hunched over a screen.
The company has already gained momentum in the United States, where it briefly outsold Xbox during Black Friday sales—a striking achievement for a device that doesn't exist yet in most people's awareness. Now, with pre-orders live in the UK and Ireland, Nex is preparing to make its pitch to European audiences. And part of that pitch involves something that will feel familiar: classic games from the Wii and Kinect era are coming to the platform.
Tom Kang, president and head of international at Nex, told Indy100 during a hands-on event in London that the company is working with multiple intellectual properties it hasn't yet announced. "You'll see more and more games that people may know coming onto our platform, games that were on the Wii or Kinect before," he said. David Lee, the company's CEO, added that when bringing these older games to the new hardware, the goal is to preserve what made them work in the first place. "We think about how to build interest, confidence and skill. We want to bring the core of the IP to the platform in authentic ways."
But Nex is careful not to position itself as a competitor to PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo. Kang was explicit: "We're not competing with any of them. We are a complementary device with different use cases focused on a specific audience in kids and families." The games being developed for Nex are designed around physical activity, party experiences, and social play—the things that made the Wii such a phenomenon in the first place. Lee noted that this approach makes gaming "even more accessible to more members of the family," since you don't need to learn a complex controller or understand gaming conventions to participate.
Both executives spoke about a broader cultural shift they see in gaming: toward isolation, toward online connection replacing in-person play, toward sedentary hours in front of a screen. Nex Playground, they argue, reverses that trend. "Gaming has become isolating and sedentary and the Nex Playground gets people active and social," Kang said. It's a philosophy that echoes the Wii's original promise, though now backed by modern motion-tracking technology and AI.
Safety is woven into the design. Nex has built a closed ecosystem that prioritizes local multiplayer over open online communication. There are leaderboards, but they're simple and limited. Games don't typically include direct online play. Crucially, the motion-tracking data—the information about how your body moves—never leaves the device itself. It stays local. For a company targeting families and young children, this architecture is deliberate. "Trust and safety is paramount in everything we do," Kang said.
The comparisons to the Wii and Kinect are unavoidable, and Nex isn't trying to avoid them. Those consoles brought millions of people into gaming who might never have picked up a controller otherwise. They were social devices in an era when gaming was becoming increasingly solitary. Nex is betting that appetite still exists—that families still want reasons to gather in one room, to move together, to play without barriers. The question now is whether the market has room for a device that does one thing very well, in an age of consoles that try to do everything.
Notable Quotes
We're not competing with any of them. We are a complementary device with different use cases focused on a specific audience in kids and families.— Tom Kang, Nex president and head of international
We want to bring the core of the IP to the platform in authentic ways.— David Lee, Nex CEO, on bringing classic games to the console
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does motion gaming matter now, when it's been dormant for so long?
Because gaming itself has changed. The Wii proved that motion controls could bring people into gaming who didn't identify as gamers. But over time, the industry moved toward online play, toward isolation. Nex is saying: that was a loss. Families want to be together.
But the Wii and Kinect already did this. What's different about Nex?
The technology is better—AI-powered body tracking instead of motion controllers you have to hold. But more importantly, it's built from the ground up for families, not as an afterthought. And it's closed off from the open internet, which matters when you're targeting children.
The company says it's not competing with Xbox or PlayStation. Do you believe that?
I think it's true in the sense that it's not trying to be a traditional console. But it is competing for time and money in the living room. The difference is it's competing on a different axis—social, physical, family-focused rather than graphical power or exclusive AAA titles.
What about the safety angle? Is that genuine or marketing?
It seems genuine. A closed ecosystem with no open online communication is a real technical choice, not just rhetoric. Motion data stays on the device. For a company targeting kids, that's a meaningful commitment, not just words.
Do you think people actually want this, or is Nex betting on nostalgia?
Probably both. But the fact that it outsold Xbox during Black Friday in the US suggests there's real appetite. People are tired of isolation. They want their kids moving, playing together. Nostalgia for the Wii is part of it, but the underlying desire—to play together in one room—that's not nostalgic. That's timeless.