The Nex Playground, a kid-focused motion-control console that exploded in recognition final yr, is the newest little bit of online game tech to announce a worth enhance immediately linked to the continuing RAM scarcity brought on by AI hyperscalers speeding to construct information facilities.
On March 25, in an open letter posted on-line, Nex CEO and co-founder David Lee introduced that beginning subsequent month, the corporate’s flagship console, the Nex Playground, will obtain a $50 worth enhance, bumping the value from $250 to $300. That is the second worth enhance in lower than two years.
“We all know this isn’t welcome information, and this isn’t a change we take calmly,” stated Lee in his publish on the official Nex web site. He additionally immediately laid the blame for the value enhance on the RAM disaster affecting tech merchandise around the globe.
“Over the previous six months, the price of key parts — particularly reminiscence (DDR) and storage (eMMC) — has risen considerably throughout the trade,” stated Lee. “These will increase are pushed partly by the fast enlargement of AI infrastructure, which is reshaping world provide and demand for these components. You might have seen stories concerning the broader reminiscence scarcity. Like many shopper electronics firms, we’ve labored exhausting to soak up these value will increase for so long as attainable. Nonetheless, at present ranges, it’s not one thing we are able to sustainably keep on our personal.”
The Playground’s worth enhance will kick in on April 1. The corporate isn’t elevating the value on its Sport Go-like subscription service. Lee says the corporate is “actually sorry” that this worth bump may make the console “much less accessible for some households.”
What’s the NEX Playground, and why is it getting a worth enhance?
The Nex Playground options no bodily controls. As an alternative, like with an Xbox Kinect, gamers work together with video games and menus utilizing their our bodies. The console launched in 2023 and price $200. Gross sales had been sluggish at first, however through the vacation purchasing season in 2024, the system went viral due to TikTok and on-line creators. This led to it promoting out and a worth enhance in 2025 to $250. Final yr, the Nex Playground outsold the PS5 and Xbox throughout a brief time frame. Nex says it has bought round 1 million models of the system since launch.
The continued RAM disaster has made it tougher and tougher for firms to safe the components wanted to construct recreation consoles, computer systems, and different tech units. One PC components maker known as 2026 the “most difficult yr” in its historical past as a result of scarcity.
That is all largely due to AI hyperscalers and tech giants gobbling up PC components to construct datacenters. It’s change into fairly expensive and difficult on your common particular person to purchase PC RAM, graphics playing cards, and even an SSD for a console. Even the costs on prebuilt PCs from firms like HP, Dell, and Asus will enhance by 15 to twenty p.c, in response to PC World.
