About
/v/ is an image board on 4chan dedicated to video games. Being one of the first boards created on the site, it has grown to become one of the biggest video game discussion on the internet, while also ironically gaining the reputation to essentially not be about video games. Users of the board are commonly referred to as /v/irgins.
History
/v/[1] (Video Games) was first created in October 2004, making it one of the oldest boards on 4chan that’s still around in its original form. Since its creation, the board grew to become one of the most frequently used and notable boards on the site. Over time the board’s popularity grew significantly enough that it was split up into 3 more boards: /vg/[2] (Video Game Generals), /vr/[3] (Retro Games) and /vp/[4] (Pokémon).
Board Culture & Reputation
Although /v/ is a board in 4chan that primarily discusses about video games, the board ironically gained a notorious reputation on other boards for not talking about video games. The cause of this is /v/‘s critical opinion of video games, resulting in many games, especially mainstream games, generally receiving negative opinions from the board’s users. Most of these opinions became more parroted as /v/ formed different injokes revolving around their loathing in video games. This reputation even grew to a point that both board users and outsiders consider the board “anti-fun.”
Video game news sites and their reviews grew to gain a notorious reputation amongst the board’s users, with many accusing nearly all positive reviews of pre-released or newly released games as a form of viral marketing by the related publisher. The board is also known to highly dislike social news aggregation website Reddit and its culture, with users attempting to frame the website on multiple occasions for things /v/ did.
Vidya
Vidya (or Vidya Gaem) is an intentionally misspelled slang term for video game. The term became highly popular on /v/, to the point that referencing to games as vidya became more frequent than just games. The term can also be found back in the Vidya Gaem Awards, a /v/-organised event handing out awards to games and publishers through voting polls for /v/ users.
The Rage Guy
The Rage Guy is the default avatar used to represent /v/ in comics and animations as a personified version of the board. The figure is known for nearly always having an angered expression on its face, reflecting /v/’s anti-fun reputation. Over time multiple variations of the figure were created, most notably Neo-/v/, which has the Snoo antenna on top of its head to represent Reddit users that started using /v/ over time; and Punished /v/, a version dressed as the Metal Gear character Punished Snake which represents pro-GamerGate users on the board.
PS3 Has No Games
The PS3 Has No Games is a phrase commonly used by the board’s users to critique what they consider to be a lack of games available for the Sony PlayStation 3. The topic is often brought up during console-related discussions to incite arguments between advocates and critics of the gaming system. Although the phrase grew inaccurate over the years, with more games being released for the console, it kept its popularity on the board.
Launchpad McQuack & Albert Einstein
Launchpad McQuack & Albert Einstein became a popular duo on /v/ due to one of the most well-known raids of the board, during which they raided a popularity poll organised by Gamestop and voted for both Launchpad McQuack and Albert Einstein to win the award of “Best Sidekick.” Alongside the succesfull raid, users on /v/ also attempted to frame Reddit for it.
Fucking Gamestop
Fucking Gamestop is a popular type of greentext stories posted on /v/ containing fake experiences with the American video game and entertainment software retailer Gamestop, ending with the catchphrase “FUCKINGGAMESTOP”. These stories commonly involve the intention of buying a videogame, the clerk not willing to follow the customer’s demand, or Gamestop’s used games policy.
