Ottawa families who've been watching the Nex Playground fly off shelves might want to act fast — the motion-gaming console is getting a price hike starting April 1st, 2026.
The device, which works a bit like a modernized Kinect by using a camera to track players' movements without any controllers, will jump from $249 to $299 CAD. It's a $50 bump that co-founder and CEO David Lee attributed to rising costs in key hardware components, specifically DDR memory and eMMC storage, driven in part by the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure competing for the same parts.
What Is the Nex Playground?
If you haven't heard of it yet, the Nex Playground made waves last holiday season by reportedly outselling the Xbox — a remarkable feat for a scrappy newcomer. It's designed with families in mind: no controllers, no complicated setup, just movement-based gameplay that gets kids (and parents) off the couch and moving around the living room.
For Ottawa households with younger kids, it's been an appealing alternative to pricier gaming systems. At under $300, it sits in a sweet spot that doesn't require the commitment of a PlayStation or Nintendo Switch ecosystem.
Why the Price Is Going Up
Lee's explanation echoes what a lot of consumer electronics companies have been saying lately. The global chip shortage may have eased somewhat, but demand for specific components — especially memory and storage — has surged as AI data centres and devices compete for the same supply. That trickles down to every gadget on the shelf, budget-friendly or not.
It's worth noting that this kind of cost pressure isn't unique to Nex. Nintendo raised the price of the Switch 2, and accessories across the board have been creeping up. The Nex hike isn't huge in isolation, but it's part of a broader trend that's squeezing consumers everywhere.
Should Ottawa Shoppers Buy Before April 1st?
If you've already been thinking about picking one up — say, for a birthday, Easter, or just because the kids have been begging — there's a reasonable case for grabbing it at the current price before the hike kicks in. Ottawa retailers like Best Buy on Merivale Road and select Walmart locations have carried the device.
That said, if $299 is still within your budget, the Nex Playground remains one of the more affordable ways to get a dedicated gaming console into your home without locking into a subscription ecosystem or a library of $80 games.
The Bigger Picture for Canadian Gamers
Canadian consumers already pay more for electronics than their American counterparts thanks to exchange rates and import costs, so a US price hike tends to sting a little harder north of the border. As the loonie fluctuates and tariff uncertainty continues to ripple through North American trade, expect more of these quiet announcements from hardware makers throughout 2026.
For Ottawa families, the takeaway is simple: if the Nex Playground is on your radar, sooner is cheaper than later.
Source: The Verge
