COLOGNE, Aug 30 \u2014 As concerns mount worldwide that children spend too much time on screens, David Lee, head of Nex Playground, tells AFP that his games console can be a hit in safety-conscious markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot all screen time is the same,\u201d the Californian CEO and co-founder told AFP at Gamescom, Europe\u2019s largest gaming show. \u201cWe want to create screen time that the family actually wants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee\u2019s company makes the Nex Playground, a blue-and-yellow plastic cube armed with an AI-powered camera and no controllers.<\/p>\n
Players interact with the console by moving around and waving their arms and legs, slicing virtual fruit with a swipe of the hand or copying dance steps.<\/p>\n
Known as \u201cmotion gaming\u201d, the technology enjoyed success in the early 2010s on Microsoft\u2019s Xbox with Kinect, a similar device that sold several tens of millions of units before falling out of use.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be the active screen time, healthy screen time,\u201d the former Apple employee said.<\/p>\n
Bluey and Peppa Pig\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Launched in the United States in 2023, Nex Playground sold 5,000 units in its first year and 150,000 after that.<\/p>\n In November 2025, it briefly overtook Microsoft\u2019s Xbox in US sales, surprising the market to become one of the most sought-after toys in the run up to Christmas.<\/p>\n Less powerful and cheaper \u2014 initially sold for US$250 (RM1,007) before tax, its price has since risen to US$299 because of higher RAM prices \u2014 the console has since passed the one-million-sales mark.<\/p>\n For its launch in Britain and Ireland in June, the company signed several partnerships, including with the BBC, to develop games based on cartoons such as Bluey and Peppa Pig.<\/p>\n Aimed at families with younger children, the console\u2019s games and interface has to be translated into local languages, delaying its release in non-anglophone markets.<\/p>\n The console is slated for release in Germany at the end of the year and \u201cpotentially\u201d in France the next.<\/p>\n Screen time limits\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Localising development and meeting regional regulation takes time, Lee told AFP.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to work with local studios. We want to set up a local team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure that we pass all the relevant compliance rules. There\u2019s a lot to do.\u201d<\/p>\n European countries are encouraging people to spend less time on screens for their health.<\/p>\n Germany is running a public information camapign encouraging families to switch off and spend time with one another in real life.<\/p>\n In France, an expert committee is due to publish a report by the end of the year on the potential risks of video games for children. A 2024 report recommended strict limits for children under six.<\/p>\n Nex is aware of sensitivities around screen time, and a spokeswoman for the firm pointed out that the console did not offer online chat, in-game purchases or display adverts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just introduced parental control features to let parents basically control which game the family can play,\u201d Lee, the CEO, said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we\u2019ll be adding the screen time limit as well.\u201d \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLOGNE, Aug 30 \u2014 As concerns mount worldwide that children spend too much time on screens, David Lee,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[74],"tags":[32580,280143,114696,18,6373,19,17,63426,66405,82],"class_list":["post-663054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-bluey","tag-californian-ceo","tag-cologne","tag-eire","tag-gamescom","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-nex-playground","tag-peppa-pig","tag-technology"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117182190443968952","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}