The Nex Playground, a kid-focused motion-control console that exploded in reputation final yr, is the most recent little bit of online game tech to announce a worth enhance straight linked to the continued RAM scarcity attributable to AI hyperscalers dashing to construct knowledge 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 flippantly,” stated Lee in his submit on the official Nex web site. He additionally straight laid the blame for the value enhance on the RAM disaster affecting tech merchandise world wide.
“Over the previous six months, the price of key elements — particularly reminiscence (DDR) and storage (eMMC) — has risen considerably throughout the trade,” stated Lee. “These will increase are pushed partially by the fast growth of AI infrastructure, which is reshaping international provide and demand for these components. You could have seen reviews concerning the broader reminiscence scarcity. Like many client electronics corporations, we’ve labored arduous to soak up these value will increase for so long as attainable. Nonetheless, at present ranges, it’s now not one thing we will sustainably keep it up our personal.”
The Playground’s worth enhance will kick in on April 1. The corporate isn’t elevating the value on its Recreation Move-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 have been gradual at first, however in the course of the vacation purchasing season in 2024, the machine went viral because of 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 period. Nex says it has bought round 1 million models of the machine since launch.
The continued RAM disaster has made it tougher and tougher for corporations to safe the components wanted to construct sport consoles, computer systems, and different tech gadgets. One PC components maker known as 2026 the “most difficult yr” in its historical past as a result of scarcity. That is all largely because of AI hyperscalers and tech giants gobbling up PC components to construct datacenters. It’s change into fairly dear and difficult in your common individual to purchase PC RAM, graphics playing cards, and even an SSD for a console. Even the costs on prebuilt PCs from corporations like HP, Dell, and Asus will enhance by 15 to twenty %, in line with PC World.
