The idea of including video game streaming apps directly to TVs is nothing new. In 2012, Samsung and LG were already fighting to integrate these “services of the future” that were Gaikai and OnLive in their screens, while the PlayStation Now was accessible on certain televisions between 2015 and 2017 before Sony Interactive Entertainment finally concentrated its subscription on its consoles and on PC.
But as subscriptions and other streaming game catalogs are more fashionable than ever, it’s no wonder the world of television is breaking into a new breach. Certain televisions marketed by Samsung from 2022 will therefore include in their interface a “Samsung Gaming Hub” game space allowing access to streaming game subscriptions such as Google Stadia, GeForce Now and Utomik. Subscribers will be able to access the games from these services without any equipment other than their state-of-the-art connected television and a compatible controller.
The Samsung Gaming Hub would not be limited to the cloud gaming, Samsung adding that your consoles connected via HDMI will also be part of it thanks to compatibility with PlayStation and Xbox controllers at launch. In practice, the idea would therefore be to be able to play normally on your console and then to launch a Stadia game from the interface of your TV using the same controller, for example.
The visual and sound quality of cloud games on these future Samsung televisions remains uncertain, the manufacturer was unable to confirm support for streaming in 4K. “We are working with our partners to offer the best quality of their service on our platform. We will announce further details ahead of launch.“commented product manager Mike Lucero after being approached by The Verge.
Observers will no doubt be surprised not to find the Xbox Game Pass in the list of services expected in the Samsung Gaming Hub, especially as Microsoft and Samsung have already formed an alliance around the cloud for two years. Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has previously indicated that integrating its flagship subscription into televisions is arguably the next step in its big rollout after Xbox consoles, PC and mobile.
For the record, the 2022 Samsung TVs will also follow the NFT trend. Apparently, owners of these TVs will be able to buy, stream and trade NFT images directly from their device. Strongly.
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