The Playground presents itself as “an alternative to passive or open-ended digital entertainment” amid “a growing national conversation around children’s screen time habits”.
Anyone using the device will still be looking at a television screen, so the benefits for children may be more a “compromise to have them get up and moving” alongside it, Nick said.
The parents I spoke to said their children often played on the console for between half an hour to an hour in one session, with the games typically being used as a way to transition into another activity, or to allow some structured play.
Brian said while getting a Playground meant they “compromised on increased screen time”, the games still encouraged active play “in a way typical cartoons or movies were unable to”.
So did I work up a sweat in any of the games I played?
In the initial starter pack, three games involved only a small amount of moving my arms.
The final two, the rhythm game and a set of mini-games, did include more full body movements.
The fuller Play Pass has a specific “Health & Fitness” category which includes sessions such as daily Zumba workouts, complete with an on-screen instructor shouting out movements in time to the music.
It wasn’t clear if I was managing to hit every motion correctly, but it did at least get me moving a bit more, and felt more convenient than heading to a gym class.