The Nex Playground, a kid-focused motion-control console that exploded in recognition final yr, is the most recent little bit of online game tech to announce a value improve instantly linked to the continued RAM scarcity attributable to AI hyperscalers speeding to construct knowledge facilities.
On March 25, in an open letter posted online, Nex CEO and co-founder David Lee introduced that beginning subsequent month, the corporate’s flagship console, the Nex Playground, will obtain a $50 value improve, bumping the worth from $250 to $300. That is the second price increase 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 instantly laid the blame for the worth improve 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 business,” stated Lee. “These will increase are pushed partly by the speedy growth of AI infrastructure, which is reshaping world provide and demand for these components. You might have seen reviews concerning the broader reminiscence scarcity. Like many client electronics corporations, we’ve labored exhausting to soak up these value will increase for so long as potential. Nevertheless, at present ranges, it’s now not one thing we will sustainably stick with it our personal.”
The Playground’s value improve will kick in on April 1. The corporate isn’t elevating the worth on its Sport Go-like subscription service. Lee says the corporate is “actually sorry” that this value bump would possibly make the console “much less accessible for some households.”
What’s the NEX Playground, and why is it getting a value improve?
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 value $200. Gross sales have been gradual at first, but during the holiday shopping season in 2024, the machine went viral because of TikTok and on-line creators. This led to it promoting out and a value improve in 2025 to $250. Final yr, the Nex Playground outsold the PS5 and Xbox throughout a brief time period. Nex says it has sold around 1 million units of the machine since launch.
The continuing RAM disaster has made it tougher and tougher for corporations to safe the components wanted to construct recreation 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 develop 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 corporations like HP, Dell, and Asus will improve by 15 to twenty %, according to PC World.
