History of video games/List of Abbreviations

#

 * 1v1 - One versus one. For one player to fight another player.
 * 1337 - Leet or Elite. Shorthand speak in common use by gamers during the 2000's.

A

 * AAA - Triple A. A game made with a large studio with a large budget.
 * ACG - Refers to the subculture Anime, Comic, and Games.
 * AI - Artificial Intelligence. Often shorthand to refer to a computer player.
 * API - Application Programming Interface
 * APM - Actions per minute. Used by competitive gamers.
 * APU - AMD processors known as Accelerated Processor Units. Combines CPU and GPU on a die.
 * AV - Audio Visual. Typically used to refer to signal cables or display equipment.

B

 * BBC - British Broadcasting Cooperation.
 * BD - Short for Blu-ray Disc. A standard for optical disks mainly used for films and console video games.

C

 * C128 - Short for Commodore 128.
 * C128D - Short for Commodore 128D, a North America-only version of the computer.
 * C16 - Short for Commodore 16.
 * C64 - Short for Commodore 64.
 * C64C - Short for Commodore 64C.
 * C64GS - Short for Commodore 64 Games System.
 * CBM - Commodore Business Machines, now known as "Commodore International".
 * CIB - Complete in Box, term used by collectors.
 * CD - Short for CD-ROM optical disk technology.
 * CISC - Complex Instruction Set Computer.
 * Co-op - Cooperative elements, typically in multiplayer games. Used in terms like Couch Co-op to refer to local multiplayer.
 * CPU - Central Processing Unit
 * CRT - Cathode-ray tube. Common display used before the 2000's for TV sets, computer displays and arcade machines.
 * CV - ColecoVision

D

 * DPS - Damage per Second. Also refers to a player role where attacking with a high damage per second is desired (To the point of letting other players handle healing, and taking damage to focus on increasing DPS).
 * DVD - An optical disk. Abbreviation is disputed, but usually identified as "Digital Versatile Disc".

E

 * EEPROM - Electrically erasable programmable read-only memory - Storage technology used by some early game cartridges.
 * EXP - Experience Points

F

 * FDD - Floppy disk drive.
 * FLOPS - Floating Point Operations Per Second, a common benchmark of processing speed.
 * FMV - Full Motion Video. Often used in the 1990's when a game featured prerecorded video. FMV game refers to a game that primarily or exclusively uses prerecorded videos for graphics.
 * FPGA - Field Programmable Gate Array. A popular technology used by some clone consoles for accurate replication of original hardware.
 * FPS - Multiple meanings. Short for Frames per Second. Also may refer to the First Person Shooter game genre.

G

 * GB - Multiple meanings. Short for Game Boy when discussing consoles. Short for Great Britain when discussing releases.
 * GBP - Short for Game Boy Pocket.
 * GBC - Short for Game Boy Color.
 * GBA - Short for Game Boy Advance.
 * GD-ROM - Short for Gigabyte Disc Read only memory - a disk format used by Sega in the late 1990's and early 2000's.
 * GG - Multiple meanings. Short for Game Gear when discussing consoles. Short for Good Game in casual chat.
 * GPU - Graphics Processing Unit
 * GPGPU - General Purpose GPU
 * G&W - Game and Watch

H

 * HDD - Hard Disk Drive
 * HP - Multiple meanings. Short for Health Points. May also refer to Hewlett Packard, a computer and calculator manufacturer.

I

 * IBM - International Business Machines. One of the most notable computer manufacturers since the 1930s, inventor of the PC standard in the early 1980s.
 * III - Indie games with scope or funding comparable to AAA games.
 * IV - Multiple meanings. Short for Intellivision. Also the roman numeral for 4.

J

 * JP - Short for Japan when discussing releases.

K

 * K - Kilo. Metric unit for thousand. Often seen as Kilobyte, Kilobit, etc.
 * KB - Keyboard.
 * KD - Kill Death ratio, especially in competitive multiplayer games. Generally a high KD is seen as the sign of a skilled player.

L

 * Lag - Slang for latency, especially in online gaming.
 * LCD - Liquid Crystal Display - A common display type since the inception of handheld game consoles. Became nearly universal in general displays after the 2000's.
 * LED - Light Emitting Diode - Commonly used as indicator lights on consoles, and rarely as discrete parts of a large console display.
 * LIN - Short for Linux, an operating system kernel.
 * LOL - Multiple meanings. Often refers to laugh out loud. May also refer to the game League of Legends.
 * LoZ - Short for the Legend of Zelda, either the first game or the series in general.
 * LP - Let's Play. A genre of writing or video which discusses a playthrough of a game.

M

 * Mac - Short for Macintosh, a computer line launched by Apple in 1984.
 * MAC - Short for "media access control", a type of unique address for computer networks.
 * MIPS - Two separate meanings. Short for either Millions of Instructions per Second, or the MIPS processor architecture.
 * MMORPG - Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game
 * MOBA - Multiplayer Online Battle Arena
 * Mobo - Motherboard
 * MS - Informal acronym for Microsoft.
 * MUD - Multi User Dungeon. The smaller precursor to MMORPG.
 * MV - Microvision

N

 * N3DS - Short for Nintendo 3DS.
 * N2DS - Short for Nintendo 2DS.
 * N64 - Short for Nintendo 64.
 * NA - Short for North America when discussing releases.
 * NDS - Short for Nintendo DS.
 * NDSi, Short for Nintendo DSi.
 * NES - Short for Nintendo Entertainment System
 * NIN - Short for Nintendo.
 * NG - Short for NEO•GEO.
 * NPC - Non Player Character
 * NS - Short for Nintendo Switch.
 * NSO - Nintendo Switch Online
 * NX - Early codename for Nintendo Switch.

O

 * OLED - Organic Light Emitting Diode. A common display type in the 2010's and on.
 * OS - Multiple meanings. Can refer to Operating System or Open Source.
 * OOT - Short for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

P

 * PC - Multiple meanings. Personal computer, especially a computer compatible with the IBM Personal Computer (model 5150) or a computer running Microsoft Windows. Also can be used to refer to a Player Character.
 * PC-88 - Short for NEC PC-8800 series computers.
 * PCB - Printed Circuit Board
 * PPE - Multiple meanings. Refers to a computational unit in the PS3 Cell Processor or the Xbox 360 Xenon Processor. Refers to Personal Protective Equipment, which some gaming brands sold during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 * PPU - Picture Processing Unit, A GPU of sorts used on some early Nintendo consoles.
 * PS - Short for PlayStation in general, may refer to PS1 specifically.
 * PS1 - Short for PlayStation 1
 * PS2 - Short for PlayStation 2
 * PS3 - Short for PlayStation 3
 * PS4 - Short for PlayStation 4
 * PS5 - Short for PlayStation 5
 * PSN - Short for PlayStation Network.
 * PSP - Short for PlayStation Portable.
 * PSX - Codename for PlayStation 1. Also a Japan-only model of PlayStation 2.
 * PUBG - Short for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

Q

 * QPU - Quantum Positioning Unit, used by the Super Mario 64 speedrunning community.

R

 * RISC - Reduced Instruction Set Architecture.
 * RAM - Random Access Memory.
 * ROM - Read Only Memory. Also slang for an amateur digital copy of a physical game.
 * RPG - Multiple meanings. Generally refers to Role Playing Game. In FPS games, refers to the real life weapon - Rocket Propelled Grenade.
 * ARPG - Action Role Playing Game
 * CRPG - Computer Role Playing Game - Often western in origin
 * JRPG - Japanese Role Playing Game
 * TRPG - Tactical Role Playing Game
 * WRPG - Western Role Playing Game
 * RSX - Reality Synthesizer. The GPU used on the PlayStation 3.
 * RTS - Real Time Strategy. A genre of game.

S

 * SMB - Super Mario Bros..
 * SMS - Short for Sega Master System.
 * SNES - Short for Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
 * SPE - Synergetic Processing Element, used by the PlayStation 3 Cell CPU.
 * SSD - Solid State Drive.

T

 * TBS - Turn Based Strategy. A genre of game.
 * TF - Team Fortress.
 * TFC - Team Fortress Classic.
 * TF2 - Team Fortress 2.

U

 * UMD - Universal Media Disc, a portable optical disk format used by Sony.

V

 * VC - Multiple meanings. Short for Venture Capital. Short for Nintendo's Virtual Console.
 * VCS - Atari Video Computer System, original name of console CX-2600, later renamed "Atari 2600". Also the name of an Atari console launched in 2020.
 * VCR - Short for "video cassette recorder", a device used to play and record on VHS tapes or, occasionally, also other video tapes.
 * VHS - Video Home System, the most common video tape standard, also used for some very low cost video game consoles.
 * VMS - Visual Memory System - Handheld game system/Sega Dreamcast Memory Card in Japan and Europe.
 * VMU - Visual Memory Unit - Handheld game system/Dreamcast Memory Card in North America.
 * VR - Virtual Reality

W

 * WAD - Short for "Where's All the Data?", default format for Doom package files, in which mods are usually distributed.
 * WIN - Short for Windows, an operating system.
 * Wolf3D - Short for Wolfenstein 3D, after the game's main executable in PC versions.
 * WOW - World of Warcraft.

X

 * x86 - Commonly-used processor architecture designed by Intel, and used by AMD, VIA, and others. The "x" stands for a variable digit.
 * x86-64 - Commonly-used extension of the x86 standard, designed by AMD, and used by Intel.
 * XB - Informal acronym for Xbox.
 * XBL - Xbox Live
 * XBLA - Xbox Live Arcade.

Y

 * Y2K - Year 2000. A feared collapse of global computing technology due to poor coding practices on the eve of the millennium.

Z

 * Z80 - Short for Zilog Z80 processor.