raptr and the Future of Social Gaming
For those of you who are not aware, raptr (available conveniently at raptr.com) is a mash-up of various forms of internet communication, xfire, and GiantBomb’s achievement system (though not as interesting) with some web 2.0 principles attached. It combines instant messenger systems much like how Pidgin combines them into a single client. Additionally the client tracks game playing while the user’s individual raptr web page mines for players achievements (unfortunately PS3 achievement mining is broken until Sony can get a better handle on scalable hardware). It can also hook up to Facebook and Twitter-like services to broadcast what the user is currently playing. It’s a very interesting push into the future of social networking and gaming and as an example, here is my own:
The next big coming change to social gaming is coming from the next update to Xbox Live, bringing Twitter and Facebook integration. While PS3 users will correctly argue that they already have Facebook and Twitter on their systems via the built-in web browser, it is not integrated to the core of the system as it will be in the Live update. From what I’ve seen, it allows you to do things like find friends who may also be hiding their secret 360 love affair as well as walk through people’s profiles and pictures with a controller instead of a mouse. (Pro Tip: You can hook up a USB keyboard to your 360 for typing stuff and keep it around for the same thing on your PS3).
In the end, I question the effectiveness of the these two to create a better online community. I haven’t met a single person through raptr yet, and while the Facebook stuff on the 360 will reveal a few more people who I can hop on Live with, I strongly doubt that either will foster the same sense of community as a forum or blog site. It is the lack of commitment required to use these services that will hold them back. In either a forum or blog, you are committing at a minimum some of your time and more likely some of your personality (unless it’s NeoGAF) that increases the risk/reward to keep you coming back much like actual friendship at a greatly reduced level. These same things will not be provided by either raptr or Facebook on Live.
I don’t mean to dog either of these services as they are great tools, but I do question their significance and lasting appeal. For me, the best part of raptr is that it tracks the amount of time I’m spending playing games to help with accountability, and as stated previously I’m sure I’ll pick up a few extra friends on Live because of the Facebook integration. But neither tool can currently be used adequately to foster the same sense of community that a simple forum or blog site can provide.
So where does social gaming go from here? Are “core” games already socially behind the times because of Facebook games?
