A list of terms and abbreviations used in the gaming industry and what they mean.
360 - Microsoft's Xbox 360
3DS - Nintendo handheld console the 3DS
3PS - Third person shooter
AI - Artificial Intelligence
AR - Augmented Reality
CY - the standard calendar year going from January 1 to December 31
DLC - Downloadable Content
E3 - Electronic Entertainment Expo, a major game conference that takes place in July
Fiscal year - a business year for a company. e.g. April 1 to March 31
Franchise - a long running series as well as characters that have been portrayed in many games
Front-loaded - when the majority of a game's sales are in it's first week or month
FPS - First Person Shooter
FTP - Free to play
GC - Nintendo GameCube
GDC - w:Game Developers Conference, a major game conference that takes place in February
HW - Hardware. See also: SW
Install base - The number of people owning a particular game system
IP Intellectual Property - essentially a unique video game, character, or invention. For example, Nintendo own the IP rights to all the Mario games; Wii Fit is a new IP for Nintendo.
Legs - the sustainability of sales in the long-term. For example, Brain Age Training has been in the charts for over a year, thus it has strong legs.
LTD - launch to date or lifetime to date - refers to game or console sales from its initial release to present date
Megaton - when an announcement is due to be made that will "shake the foundations of gaming to its core".
MMORPG - Massive Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game
NDS - Nintendo DS
NPD - NPD Group, a marketing research firm that tracks video game sales in the United States
PSP - Sony Playstation Portable
PS3 - PlayStation 3
PS4 - PlayStation 4
PSV - PlayStation Vita handheld console
RPG - Role Playing Game
SKU - "Stock keeping unit", a distinct product
Software tie ratio - how many games a system owner buys on average
SW - Software. See also: HW
Timed exclusive - a video game that releases on one console exclusively for a short period of time and then releases on a competing system.
WW - worldwide; often seen as 30m units sold WW
XO - Xbox One from Microsoft
YOY - a year over year comparison e.g. comparing 2008 fiscal year with 2007 fiscal year.
YTD - year to date - refers to game or console sales from the beginning of the year to present date.
360 - Microsoft's Xbox 360
3DS - Nintendo handheld console the 3DS
3PS - Third person shooter
AI - Artificial Intelligence
AR - Augmented Reality
CY - the standard calendar year going from January 1 to December 31
DLC - Downloadable Content
E3 - Electronic Entertainment Expo, a major game conference that takes place in July
Fiscal year - a business year for a company. e.g. April 1 to March 31
Franchise - a long running series as well as characters that have been portrayed in many games
Front-loaded - when the majority of a game's sales are in it's first week or month
FPS - First Person Shooter
FTP - Free to play
GC - Nintendo GameCube
GDC - w:Game Developers Conference, a major game conference that takes place in February
HW - Hardware. See also: SW
Install base - The number of people owning a particular game system
IP Intellectual Property - essentially a unique video game, character, or invention. For example, Nintendo own the IP rights to all the Mario games; Wii Fit is a new IP for Nintendo.
Legs - the sustainability of sales in the long-term. For example, Brain Age Training has been in the charts for over a year, thus it has strong legs.
LTD - launch to date or lifetime to date - refers to game or console sales from its initial release to present date
Megaton - when an announcement is due to be made that will "shake the foundations of gaming to its core".
MMORPG - Massive Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game
NDS - Nintendo DS
NPD - NPD Group, a marketing research firm that tracks video game sales in the United States
PSP - Sony Playstation Portable
PS3 - PlayStation 3
PS4 - PlayStation 4
PSV - PlayStation Vita handheld console
RPG - Role Playing Game
SKU - "Stock keeping unit", a distinct product
Software tie ratio - how many games a system owner buys on average
SW - Software. See also: HW
Timed exclusive - a video game that releases on one console exclusively for a short period of time and then releases on a competing system.
WW - worldwide; often seen as 30m units sold WW
XO - Xbox One from Microsoft
YOY - a year over year comparison e.g. comparing 2008 fiscal year with 2007 fiscal year.
YTD - year to date - refers to game or console sales from the beginning of the year to present date.