You probably think Microsoft’s “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign is extremely corny, but there’s some truth in it. Case in point, Samsung’s smart TVs that come with access to Xbox Cloud Gaming.
As Prime Day (week) gets underway, Best Buy isn’t hanging around, and you can get a massive 75-inch Samsung 4K UHD Smart TV for just $479.99. Cheaper than an Xbox Series X, and still with Xbox games on tap.
The angle here is that you’re getting a massive 4K UHD TV with bells and whistles including HDR 10, but that’s also a games console without the need to buy an extra box to attach to it.
I’ve highlighted Xbox Cloud Gaming, but it doesn’t end there. Samsung Gaming Hub is a conduit to a range of cloud gaming services, including Amazon Luna, and the absolutely superb NVIDIA GeForce Now.
The Xbox Game Pass library for cloud streaming is the best it has ever been, and it keeps getting better. Xbox is now adding the ability to stream games you’ve bought, rather than ones just on Game Pass, and it’s making the library even larger.
I’m back into playing The Division (the original game) on my Steam Deck of late, simply because it’s one of the stream-what-you-own titles on Xbox Cloud Gaming. And the library will only continue to grow.
GeForce Now, by comparison, may have PC Game Pass access, but is primarily for playing PC games you’ve bought on stores such as Steam and Epic Games. The need to have a dedicated gaming machine continues to diminish.
I should also point out that, even without any public statements, Xbox Cloud Gaming seems much better these days. I tended to avoid it in the past because the streams weren’t nearly as good quality as on something like GeForce Now. But of late, that’s not a concern.
Neither, it should be said, should the fact this TV only has Wi-Fi 5. I play Xbox Cloud Gaming on my Steam Deck LCD all the time, and that only has Wi-Fi 5. It’s perfectly fine, though you can also hook an Ethernet connection up to this TV if you prefer.
It’s not the highest end TV you’ll find, not at all. There’s no OLED, and reviews point to a lacklustre HDR experience. But if you want a massive screen to play games on, this has a good response time, and the 60 Hz refresh rate is absolutely fine for cloud gaming. Check out Samsung’s spec sheet for the full run down.
But the idea you can pay less than an Xbox Series X, and still play the latest Xbox games, all from your TV, that’s pretty enticing. It won’t be around for long, though.
