Last month, Samsung said it plans to launch a new specialized online store for gamers. The company announced that the so-called Game Portal would go live in more than a couple dozen markets by the end of July. And today, the gaming store made its debut in South Korea.
Game Portal is an online store by Samsung where customers can buy gaming products ranging from smartphones, TVs, gaming monitors, and PCs to gaming accessories such as headsets, high-performance SSDs, and more.
Most devices available through Game Portal are either dedicated to gaming or offer some gaming features / superior performance, even if they haven't been conceived purely as gaming devices. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is an example of this. Even though it's not a gaming device per se, it can run the latest mobile games without breaking a sweat, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy” chipset offers fantastic performance.
Is Samsung missing the point of its own store?
On the other hand, a bad example of a gaming device is the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. As great as these wireless earbuds are for listening to music and making phone calls on the go, they're far from the best choice for gaming. Their addition to the Game Portal might raise some eyebrows, as it could be argued that Samsung should have never tried selling them through a dedicated gaming store.
But what's wrong with the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, you ask? Well, nothing, apart from the fact that virtually every pair of wireless Galaxy Buds have a delay. Although it's not noticeable when watching videos and listening to music, the delay becomes an issue when combining the earbuds with interactive mediums such as video games. The Buds can be used to play more passive mobile games with a touchscreen, but the lag can become a real issue when playing more interactive games or connecting Samsung's wireless earbuds to other gaming devices such as consoles and portable consoles or PCs. The Galaxy Buds series just isn't great for gaming.
Most devices listed on the Game Portal are a great fit for gamers, but because Samsung wanted to include the Buds in its gaming store, it kind of feels like the company is casting doubt on the whole concept of having a store for hardcore gamers. It seems like negligence on Samsung's part, and it makes one wonder if the Game Portal store is trying to sell other devices that aren't optimized for gaming while passing them on as gamer-friendly.
Anyhow, this apparent mishap aside, the Game Portal store is now live in South Korea. And according to the company's original announcement, it should also go live in countries like the USA, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK before the end of the month.
