Little-Known Console Quietly Outsold The PS5 Ahead Of Black Friday

Little-Known Console Quietly Outsold the PS5 Ahead of Black Friday

Last updated: 2025/12/08 at 2:01 AM

News Room Published 8 December 2025

A new contender for 2025’s hottest gaming gift has emerged.

For the week ending Nov. 22, the best-selling gaming hardware was the Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart World Bundle, according to retail tracking service Circana. However, coming in at number two—and ahead of the PS5 Slim Digital 1TB—was the Nex Playground Interactive Gaming System, Circana’s Senior Director, Mat Piscatella, noted on Bluesky.

The Nex is a console marketed to families and younger gamers, where you play titles through motion-tracking tech. There’s no need for controllers, and it can support inventive games where players use their bodies to interact with different characters. Think of it like a modern version of Microsoft’s Kinect or Sony’s EyeToy, as it uses a camera to monitor each player’s movements.

“MOTION CONTROL IS BACK,” Piscatella wrote on Bluesky.

The Nex console plays games like Fruit Ninja alongside titles based on archery, baseball, basketball, dancing, drawing, soccer, and more. There are also tie-in games for popular children’s franchises like Barbie, Bluey, Care Bears, Gabby’s Dollhouse, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Peppa Pig, Sesame Street, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

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The Nex was first released in 2023 and has since gained in popularity. At $249, the console is cheaper than a lot of its competition. Nintendo’s Switch 2 starts at $449.99, and after recent price hikes, Sony’s PlayStation 5 starts at $499.99, and the Xbox Series S costs $399.99.