Site review: Raptr

Raptr, a social network which tracks users' gaming activity on their Xbox, PS3, Wii and PC, has just launched in public beta.

Amongst other things, it lets you know when your friends are gaming, which is a nifty idea. I've signed up to see how it works...

The company

As well as launching into public beta this week, Raptr announced that it has received $12m (£6.8m) in a first round of funding led by Accel Partners and the Founders Fund.

Raptr was founded by entrepreneur Dennis Fong, who had previously co-founded gaming site Xfire, bought by Viacom for $102m (£57.8m) in 2006.

How does it work? 

To get started, you need to sign up and download the Raptr client, which sits on your desktop like the Last.fm player and lets you know what your friends on Raptr are playing: 

The sign-up process is nice and easy as Raptr has kept it as brief as possible, while downloading the client takes just a minute or two.

Once you have registered, you can start to update your profile, adding your gamertags from Xbox Live and other consoles, and linking up with any friends on the site.

Raptr also integrates with your profile on Facebook and Twitter to send notifications when you go online to play a game, or when you reach milestones when gaming.

User profiles

The Profile pages are very good, and show a lot of useful information. As well as the useful bios and pictures, as well as listing all the games people own, what they are playing on at the moment, and your Xbox Live and other tags.

The profile page will also show you what your friends are up to at the moment, as well as listing stats showing which games you and friends are playing most often:

This information will be used to send recommendations for games which you might be interested in.

Other handy features include the ability to review and rate games you have played and read other users' reviews, which could make the site a useful resource when choosing whether to buy a game.

You also have a 'Raptr card' which shows your current status, and which can be displayed on your blog or social network pages.

Conclusion

The interface on Raptr is very slick and usable and, once you have enough friends signed up to the site, will be a great way to keep in touch and hook up to play games together.

However, the service only integrates effectively for PC and Xbox gamers, so people with a PS3 or a Wii will find it less useful at the moment.

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