The PlayStation 5 the NEX Playground, a plug-and-play motion-controlled console, was sold for one week. After getting off to a bit of a rocky start in 2020, Sony's flagship console has consistently topped the console sales charts in the years since, often battling the Nintendo Switch for the top spot. But in November, the PlayStation 5 briefly lost ground to a device not made by one of its biggest competitors.
Overall, it was a big year for the PS5. The console celebrated its fifth anniversary and was getting closer and closer to surpassing the PS3's lifetime sales figures. By June, the PS5 had sold more than 80 million units worldwide, which is half that of the legendary PS2. Despite all of these impressive achievements, the console still faced stiff competition, and in at least one case, that competition came from an unexpected place.
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NEX Playground outsold PS5 for a week in November
According to gaming analyst Mat Piscatella at Bluesky, the NEX Playground surpassed the PS5 to become the second best-selling console in the US for the week ending November 22, 2025. Piscatella later told IGN that the NEX is also the fifth best-selling platform in the US for the year, behind the original Xbox X and Switch 2. While it may have only lasted a week, it's still a significant milestone for the NEX. The PS5 has sold more units than every Xbox console, so beating it, even for a moment, is no small feat, especially for a system without the name recognition of Nintendo or Microsoft.
The NEX Playground is a motion-controlled system similar to the Xbox Kinect in that it uses a camera to observe players' movements and translate that movement into game inputs. PlayStation has also tried similar concepts in the past, with the EyeToy for the PS2 and the PlayStation Move controllers, which look more like Wii controllers, for the PS3 and PS4. While both attempts managed to sell at least a few million units worldwide, neither really stood the test of time. The Xbox camera motion control accessory has also been discontinued, although the Kinect won't get new games until 2021. However, unlike the Kinect or EyeToy, the NEX Playground is fully plug-and-play, so users don't need to purchase an additional system or purchase any additional games to use it.
Like the PS5, the NEX Playground isn't exactly new. It was released in 2023, but only recently has it gained enough traction to be among the giants Xbox, Sony and Nintendo. At a suggested retail price of around $250, it's also much more affordable than the PS5, Switch 2, or Xbox Series X/S, which likely helped it climb the sales charts. However, his weekly rise was still not enough for the top spot. That honor goes to Nintendo with its latest console. Given how the Switch 2 is Nintendo's fastest-selling system in the company's history, this isn't much of a surprise, but to surpass the PS5 instantly is a worthy feat in itself.
Interestingly, the number one selling console the week before Thanksgiving also supports motion control, even though it's not the main draw of the Switch 2. It's unclear if this signals the potential for a wider return of motion control, or if the NEX Playground's price and friendliness helped it gain popularity in a time of high costs. Whatever it was, Piscatella was impressed, saying it was the first time he'd seen a plug-and-play system so high. Even if it loses the number two spot, as Piscatella expects to finish the year closer to number five, it's proof that there's room in the console market for players other than Nintendo, Sony and Xbox.
