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Chrome extension makes quick clips from Twitch broadcasts
In the words of Harlan Ellison, "Pay the writer." Or, in this case, attribute and pay the streamer. Plays.tv is launching a a Chrome app that enables Twitch casters to recieve full attribution for clips that fans make from watching their broadcast sessions. It's a solution to a problem many streamers face: They're spending five or more hours streaming per day and afterward, should they do something pretty crazy in-game, if they want to make a shareable clip of it that means more time spent editing and sitting in front of his or her computer. It's a vicious, time-consuming cycle when some Twitch partners are already spending seven days per week on camera and in front of their gaming rigs.
Personal information compromised on Raptr
Good news, Raptr users! Your personal information has been compromised! Wait, did that read "good news"? It's bad. It's pretty bad. Yes, in yet another hack of personal information of online services Raptr wound up being hacked, resulting in a stolen names, hashed passwords, and email addresses. Founder and CEO Dennis Fong noted that the two-factor authentication used for Raptr Rewards was not compromised, so users will be unlikely to see anything lost from their reward points. Fong appears confident that the risk for users is fairly minimal, but as with any security breach he advises users to change passwords and check accounts for anything using the same username, email, and/or password. Standard operating procedure, really. No word has been released on how many accounts may have been compromised, but to be on the safe side you should change your logins and such across the board if you're a Raptr user.
The usual suspects dominate December's Raptr rankings
Do you quote Raptr data when having unscientific discussions about MMO playerbase numbers? If so, rejoice, because here are some more numbers based on a sample size of dubious value! As you might expect, League of Legends, Dota 2, and World of Warcraft continue to dominate Raptr users' attention spans, while ArcheAge, Final Fantasy XIV, and Guild Wars 2 all dropped from their position in November's rankings. Click past the cut to see the full list. [Source: Raptr press release]
WoW and FFXIV see boosted playtime on Raptr; ArcheAge playtime 'cratered'
Another month, another Raptr report. Yesterday Raptr.com posted its most played PC games list for November, and MMOs did rather well. Unsurprisingly, World of Warcraft surged up the list to #2 thanks to the Warlords of Draenor expansion. "The MMO's monthly play time was up 71.3% versus October," Raptr's press release says. And though WoW "likely" drew from League of Legends' numbers, it couldn't quite usurp the MOBA's #1 seat. Among other MMOs, ArcheAge playtime "cratered by 39.97%," but World of Tanks and Final Fantasy XIV both saw rises in theirs. Guild Wars 2 rose in rank, Raptr says, but lost playtime in November vs. October. SWTOR fell two places since October. As always, Raptr roundups come with the caveat that they represent Raptr users on PC, not all gamers; some MMO studios are also known to boost their Raptr numbers with in-game incentives. But since some of these games refuse to release population data, you might call this the next best snapshot of popularity outside of touring the servers yourself.
Raptr shows MMOs and MOBAs dominating the top 20 in August
Raptr's tracking of play choices among the service's gamers in August paints a picture of a wide love for MMOs and MOBAs. World of Warcraft holds a respectable #2 spot, followed by Final Fantasy XIV (#10), Warframe (#11), Guild Wars 2 (#12), Star Wars: The Old Republic (#14), and Firefall (#20). However, former Raptr #6 holder, WildStar, has dropped out of Raptr's top 20 entirely. "With a late July release, Firefall made a 40-spot jump into the top 20 for August. Not too surprisingly, Firefall is converting more players from fellow F2P shooter Warframe than any other game, with Dota 2 coming in second," Raptr posted. Other online titles fleshed out the list, such as League of Legends (#1), Dota 2 (#3), SMITE (#5), and World of Tanks (#13). Card battler Hearthstone is still hanging onto the top 10 at #8.
Raptr's Most Played PC list shows strong start for WildStar
Raptr has released its Most Played PC Games list for June 2014 and we spot six MMOs gracing the company's list this time around. As no surprise to anyone, World of Warcraft still dominates in the number 3 spot, behind League of Legends and Dota 2, but we also see WildStar's debut at number 6. World of Tanks, Final Fantasy XIV, Guild Wars 2, and The Elder Scrolls Online finish out the remaining MMOs on the list. Interestingly enough, The Elder Scrolls Online's hours played were nearly cut in half from May to June, and Star Wars: The Old Republic was bumped from the list entirely. It's important to note that these rankings are only based on hours played by those who use Raptr for each play session. Check out the complete infographic and press release after the cut. [Source: Raptr press release]
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Free for All: What my Raptr stats say about my gaming style
I've had a love/hate relationship with Raptr, the free game tracking service and social network. I used it much of the time when it first came out but then fell out of love with it when it stopped detecting many of the indie and browser-based MMOs that I played. I picked it up again recently and have been attempting to keep it going any time I game. I like being able to communicate with people through the network, but I mainly enjoy looking over my stats as a gamer to see just how flighty I can be. The system isn't perfect, of course. Either I need to set the app to start when my PC does, or I just need to get better at remembering to start it when I begin a gaming session. And even though I play many, many different types of games and MMOs, the network still doesn't automatically recognize many of the smaller titles I like to play. So even though there are some gaps in my wall, I thought it'd be interesting to look at the info there to see just how much gaming I am doing.
The Daily Grind: Who the heck uses Raptr and Xfire?
Every month or so, we hear from Raptr and Xfire publicists that such-and-such a game is now ranked number one on that platform and 80 bajillion people total are gaming while logged into said tracking service. And at least once a week, commenters will inform us that one MMO or another is pure fail because its Raptr numbers have trailed off, which is usually followed up with a "shut up; no one uses Raptr" or something similar. I'm not saying social media is useless; I know it's a factor in predicting market penetration and even Kickstarter success. But I do have to wonder: Who the heck actually does use Raptr and Xfire? Do you? Do you know anyone who does? Is this a thing MMO players avoid because they can already spam their achievements inside games or using Twitter plugins? Do you use them to tell you how much you really play games? How useful do you think these platforms' data are in discussions about MMO numbers? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
GTA5, CoD: Ghosts rank as Raptr's most-played games of 2013
Stat-tracking gaming community Raptr has released its list of the most-played games of 2013, revealing that site members sunk more hours into the Xbox 360 version of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 5 in its first month of release than any other individual game released this year. While GTA5 ranked as the site's most-played game in its first 30 days of release, Activision's Call of Duty: Ghosts emerged as the single most-played Xbox 360 game for all of 2013, beating out popular favorites like Minecraft, FIFA 13, and Halo 4. Raptr's results name League of Legends as its most-played PC game of 2013, outperforming rival MOBA Dota 2 and MMORPGs Rift and World of Warcraft. Grinding Gear Games' Path of Exile takes top honors as the site's most-played new IP, while Terraria's 1.2 content update ranks as the year's most-played DLC/expansion. It's worth noting that Raptr only tracks member playtime across the Xbox 360 and PC platforms; Wii U and PlayStation 3 gameplay is not calculated as part of the site's rankings. Still, the results give an interesting look at how much time players invest in a game after its release on an individual platform, as compared to its long-term popularity throughout the year.
AMD and Raptr create PC gaming suite to tweak settings, dole out prizes and stream over Twitch
Hate mucking around in PC game graphics menus? NVIDIA's got an app for that -- and now, AMD does too. The chipmaker has teamed up with Raptr, a video game-focused social network, to launch Gaming Evolved: a suite that offers tools for chat, takes screenshots and even tweaks game settings for better performance. Unlike Nvidia's kit however, Gaming Evolved relies heavily on Raptr's community data to determine the best configuration for your PC. Naturally, the social network's rewards system is in play, offering users beta access to select games or free DLC for using the service, too. You can also stream via Twitch, and even simultaneously watch someone else's broadcast while you play DayZ. The company says the program is designed to "make PC gaming as simple to use as consoles," but the beta build that's available now plays more like Steam than a living room device.
Raptr revives RIFT rewards, Defiance discount
Back in March, Trion partnered with Raptr to introduce a four-tiered reward system to help revitalize RIFT. Three months later, another reward incentive gave folks in-game armor, an exclusive mount, and a special Raptr pet. And now, it's time for another bout of rewards! Raptr has revived those very June rewards for RIFT, offering once again the armor, mount, and pet to those who join the community. The rewards, however, don't end with RIFT. Raptr has also revived the Defiance rewards (30% off the game) and added exclusive limited access to the alpha version of End of Nations. [Source: Raptr press release] [Update: Trion has let us know that part or all of this morning's press release may have been in error. Stand by for clarification from the source!]
Raptr hosts Neverwinter dev Q&A, prizes offered
Raptr, a gaming community that touts it rewards people for playing, is turning its rewarding eye toward Neverwinter players. The site is hosting a Q&A session with Lead Designer Zeke Sparkes, Foundry Producer Rob Overmeyer, and Community Manager Som Pourfarzaneh tomorrow, July 26th, from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. EDT. Fans wishing to lob questions at these devs about the upcoming Fury of the Feywild module or the Foundry can leave their queries in the Q&A thread starting now. The community can also "like" others' questions, and the ones with the most likes will be answered first. But wait, what about the reward mentioned? That would be three Feywild starter packs, one for each of the top three questions submitted; these top questions, however, will be determined by the Raptr staff, not the likes. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Captain's Log: A new Star Trek Online potpourri
One thing is certain: Many players have returned to Star Trek Online since the Legacy of Romulus expansion was released. Many new players have also given Star Trek Online their first try and are suitably impressed with the game's improvement. Bug patches are forthcoming, and server crashes have been reduced over the past couple of weeks. Many players who have started new Romulan Republic characters and have reached level cap (50) are now turning their attention to the endgame material. Still others have decided to start their very first Klingon character. But what about stuff that isn't about Legacy of Romulus? It just so happens there are lots of "little" items to cover, so join me while I go over some of the news and tidbits that have popped up recently.
RIFT tops Raptr's May most-played list
Is RIFT taking the charts by storm? At first glance when it comes to Raptr's most-played PC and Xbox 360 titles in May, it would appear so. However, just as with everything else associated with statistics, it's important to know the full story before jumping to conclusions. RIFT jumped up 13 spots to garner a 7.76% share of player hours in May, topping even League of Legends and World of Warcraft. This was largely thanks to a reward campaign that quadrupled the number of players from March. The company notes that Neverwinter was also a "big mover" in the month among Raptr players, netting 11th place.
Trion breathes new life into RIFT with Raptr Rewards promotion
Engaging new players and retaining veteran ones is one of the great life goals of every MMO. Trion looked to outside incentive in trying to find ways to revitalize RIFT's playerbase. Partnering with Raptr, Trion came up with a four-tier reward system that gave players everything from a free copy of the game to in-game ranks, mounts, and gear. The free copy of RIFT was accompanied by a month of game-time and served as the first reward, meant to bring in players of other RPGs. The other tiers were aimed toward veteran-type players. Al the rewards were available from mid-November to the end of January. How effective were these rewards? RIFT's daily active players on Raptr increased 470% over the length of the promotion, and average daily playtime jumped up from four hours a day to just over six. It's almost like players like getting stuff.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's Daniel Stahl's Q&A at Raptr
The past week was met with such interesting Star Trek Online news that I'm postponing my advice series: STO launched a formal affiliation with gaming social media site Raptr, and Cryptic Studios' Executive Producer Daniel Stahl spent a majority of the day answering questions posed to him in the site's community threads. Stahl revealed quite a few tasty tidbits of information and even though the thread can be accessed by non-members members (the link is below in the comments section), I am taking the liberty of reporting on some of his responses. Join me after the break to read what's in store for the future of STO.
Raptr handing out 10,000 copies of RIFT and RIFT CEs
Haven't given last year's hit MMO, RIFT, a try yet? Trion Worlds has partnered up with Raptr to hand out a whopping 10,000 copies of the game. If that wasn't enough (and it never is), players can earn in-game goggles and a free upgrade to a collector's edition just by leveling up. This offer comes through the new Raptr Rewards program. Players can sign up to the program through Facebook and then earn points by playing games and hitting certain milestones. The copy of RIFT, which includes the core game and a month of game time, will be given away to members who have hit the "experienced" level in one of Raptr's sponsored RPGs. These copies will be available on a first-come, first-served basis starting Thursday, May 31st. Raptr players who take this copy of RIFT and hit "amateur" on the program will get an in-game Dwarven Smithy Goggles, while "experienced" achievers will be granted a free upgrade to RIFT's collector's edition. These rewards are available to players only in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, and Germany. [Source: Trion Worlds press release]
Raptr rewards gamers for playing with discounts, beta keys, and more
Do you wanna earn fabulous prizes just for playing your favorite games? Of course you do. Well, you're in luck because Raptr has just announced its new Raptr Rewards program, which is "a program to reward active gamers with real rewards just for playing their favorite games." The program is "on track to offer over 350,000 rewards totaling $1.3 million [US] in value just in the first month of launch." The prizes that are available for dedicated players are myriad, ranging from discounts on Gunnar brand gaming eyewear to beta access for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and much more. The full details of the available rewards and how to earn them can be found on the official Raptr site, so go check it out, then start playing for your prizes. [Source: Raptr press release]
Skyrim is 2011's most-played game, according to Raptr
Popular game-tracking service Raptr recently published its list of top-performing games of 2011, a roster entirely decided by the amount of man hours (and woman hours) its gaming community poured into them. The list isn't terribly surprising: Skyrim was the most-played RPG (beating out Dragon Age 2 by a factor of six), Modern Warfare 3 was the most-played shooter and FIFA Soccer 12 was the most-played sports game, because, you know, Europe. Here's a surprise, though: According to Raptr, the most played game of the year was Skyrim. Crazy, right? We thought for sure that Modern Warfare 3 and the siren call of its quintuple prestiges would take the cake. We admit this tendency could have possibly been surpassed by infinite dragons and somehow-even-more-infinite adventure.
Gamigo celebrates Black Prophecy + Raptr bundle with giveaways
Gamigo announced today that its free-to-play sci-fi MMORPG Black Prophecy now comes bundled with the gaming-centric IM client Raptr. For those of you not in the know, Raptr is a multi-protocol instant messaging client that allows gamers to keep in touch with their IM friends while in-game, while also allowing players to see what their friends are playing and arrange to join their friends' games. To commemorate the union of game and IM client, gamigo is hosting a promotion, which is going on now and will end on September 16th, 2011. To participate, players have to scamper over to Black Prophecy's Raptr page, follow it, and leave comments on the stories posted each day. What can players win for their troubles? Well, 20 lucky players will receive an in-game prize pack, which includes a 30-day Character Card, 10 XP bonus consumables, five Concentration Boost consumables, and an in-game Synaptic Impairment Protection II item. Four grand-prize winners will receive all of that plus a top-of-the-line gaming joystick "with a total of over $2000 in gear and in-game items." Who doesn't love free stuff, right? So what are you waiting for? Get on it, space cowboy.
