Samsung is debuting a new gaming hub for their 2022 TV models. The new hub features access to multiple cloud gaming ecosystems including Nvidia’s GeForce, Google Stadia, and Utomic.
The move is more of a feature than a selling point for Samsung which in general is known for its top quality screens and software performance. But the announcement is couched in a more expansive release concerning increased refresh rates and a new interface for the 2022 models.
Cloud gaming has been available on multiple platforms for years but has never really captured the attention of the very valuable main stream gaming community. Most of the gaming community is focused in one direction or another choosing specific consuls or even dedicated PC builds for their needs. And whether an audience like that will even notice a feature someone buried in a massive smart TV interface is anybody’s guess. You can expect the vast majority of the gamers out there to still be scouring for the latest Xbox or PlayStation or even new ram and graphics processors for their dedicated gaming PCs. Will casual gamers pick up on the idea? They may. But they will need to buy a third-party controller in order to access the games. And that presents a bear you’re right from the start. It’s not unlike Apple which of course launched its own gaming platform which has yet to really capture the imagination of anybody. It is sort of a classic case of because they can do it they’re giving it a shot versus a reaction to a market that’s screaming for it.
Someone will probably fully unlock the potential of cloud gaming at some point. But it is more likely to be achieved via consoles or PCs that it is a television. Because despite the best efforts of even the best television makers in the world. Companies like Samsung and LG can simply not dedicate the time and resources needed to provide a state of the art game performance while also delivering hundreds of streaming apps 5G tuners and everything elseyou expect on a high-end television. Especially considering that TV manufactures keep working to make everything smaller thinner and lighter.
we can’t doubt that Samsung‘s latest TVs won’t be spectacular television. And I can imagine that a PlayStation five will look fantastic using the screens. But whether those PlayStation five owners stop playing the latest on the console and dive into under powered cloud games is iffy.
