According to Raptr.com, over eight and a half million gamers have started using the site’s social network to keep track of games, connect with friends, and receive a news feed tailored specifically to their interests. A recent article in the New York Times says while Raptr my act as a platform for interaction and media, the company’s true focus is on collecting data about gamers and the games they play.
On the surface, this seems like an incredible deal for Raptr—convince a few million gamers to install your software, track what they play, and sell the arcane and highly sought after marketing data at a premium. This was how I initially envisioned the project and why I am still somewhat dumbfounded that such a vast number of gamers agreed to install the tracking data at all. With a host of websites like Kotaku, IGN, and 1Up already plugged into the industry and offering up the latest gaming news and the stigma of installing software that admits it’s going to spy on you, I can’t understand the initial motivation for users to try Raptr.
Quite a few gamers have begun using the service however, and according to the company’s representatives, having access to that data allows them to offer more relevant news. Knowing that a player spends thirty-two hours a week playing Call of Duty and has never once logged into an EA Sports game or Farmville account allows Raptr to pipe all the latest First Person Shooter gossip his or her way, while the remaining stories are directed to users more active in those genres. More impressively, Raptr can tell by the number of hours a player has spent in World of Warcraft to determine if they are new and more likely to make use of new-user tips, or a desktop veteran only interested in rumors about the next expansion.
If nothing else, Raptr seems poised to cut down the number of clicks necessary to skip through the spam on your favorite websites before you get to a story you might actually read. Try it if you’re really fed up with your news feed or if you haven’t already found a home in one of the many gamer communities online. Considering that you’re giving up your privacy and stocking their servers with a sparkling hoard of marketing info and statistics, it might not be worth it to demand top-notch service, instant information, and articles a few cuts above what you’ll find on more traditional sites.
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