/v/ (imageboard)

Videogames discussion board on 4chan October 2025 /v/ – Video Games 4chan logo.svg 4chan.org/v/ 4chan V screenshot, 2025 December 19.png Screenshot of the catalogue of the /v/ board as of 19 December 2025 Yes 4chan imageboard Optional Hiroyuki Nishimura Christopher "moot" PooleLagorio-Chafkin Christine We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of REDDIT, the Internet's Culture Laboratory 2 October 2018 Little, Brown Book Group 323 978-0-349-41635-9 https://books.google.com/books?id=UwpUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT323 15 July 2024 2004 10 Online English /v/, short for Video Games, is an anonymous imageboard on 4chan for discussing video games, consoles, and related topics. Created in October 2004, the board has influenced internet culture through a series of Internet memes, the most notable of which being the controversial NPC Wojak in 2016. It has also attracted much criticism for the userbase's involvement in the Gamergate harassment campaign in 2014 and 2015. Background 4chan was launched on 1 October 2003 by Christopher Poole, a then-15-year-old student from New York City using the online handle "moot".https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121564928060441097 Modest Web Site Is Behind a Bevy of Memes Brophy-Warren Jamin July 9, 2008 The Wall Street Journal July 24, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080829174144/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121564928060441097.html August 29, 2008 live At its founding, the site only hosted one board: /b/ (Anime/Random).Alfonso III Fernando Now 10 years old, 4chan is the most important site you never visit https://www.dailydot.com/debug/4chan-10-years-christopher-moot-poole/ www.dailydot.com The Daily Dot, LLC 29 October 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20200429225852/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/4chan-10-years-christopher-moot-poole/ 29 April 2020 2 March 2020 dead It was advertised as an English-language counterpart to Futaba Channel and a place for Western fans to discuss anime and manga.https://www.4chan.org/faq.php#what4chan FAQ – What is 4chan? 4chan 29 October 2025https://www.irishtimes.com/business/tuning-into-innovation-outside-the-confines-of-english-speaking-web-1.919524 Tuning into innovation outside the confines of English-speaking web O'Brien Danny May 2, 2008 The Irish Times January 17, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20150703174840/http://www.irishtimes.com/business/tuning-into-innovation-outside-the-confines-of-english-speaking-web-1.919524 July 3, 2015 live On 9 October 2004, the addition of several boards were announced; /ib/ (Oekaki Random, now defunct), /ip/ (Oekaki Pro, now defunct), /tech/ (Technology, now called /g/) and /v/ (Video Games).BUNCH OF CHANGES https://www.4chan.org/4channews.php/?all#63 www.4chan.org 29 October 2025 9 October 2004 March 26, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210326170934/https://www.4chan.org/4channews.php/?all#63 live By 2021, the board was the second most active only behind /pol/.Fathallah Judith May 'Getting by' on 4chan: Feminine self-presentation and capital-claiming in antifeminist Web space First Monday 19 May 2021 26 6–7 10.5210/fm.v26i7.10449 free en 1396-0466 Other video game related boards also exist; /vg/ (Video Game Generals, dedicated to game franchises), /vm/ (Video Games/Multiplayer, for multiplayer video games), /vmg/ (Video Games/Mobile, for mobile video games), /vp/ (Pokémon), /vr/ (Retro Games), /vrpg/ (Video Games/RPG, for Role-playing video games) and /vst/ (Video Games/Strategy, for strategy video games).4chan boards https://www.4chan.org/ 29 October 2025 Culture and influence thumb| A graph of the userbase of the /v/ board between January and June 2012. Green represents anonymous users, blue those who post with a tripcode, and red those who do under an alias. In the early years of the board, "is this Battletoads?" was a common response to any video game screenshot shared in the site, this later spread to /b/ and starting in 2007, trolls began calling GameStop stores asking for pre-order copies of a sequel that at the time didn't exist, as a new game wouldn't appear until Battletoads (2020). These calls, frequently vulgar in tone, continued into 2010 to the frustration of local employees, some of whom would become enraged at the mention of the game.Philiphs Whitney This is why we can't have nice things: mapping the relationship between online trolling and mainstream culture 2016 The MIT Press 9780262529877 32 https://archive.org/details/thisiswhywecanth0000phil 29 October 2025 Other organizations with no ties to video games, like the Church of Scientology, also received these prank calls.Contaldi Lou GameStop Leans In To Battletoads Meme Following E3 Trailer https://www.dualshockers.com/gamestop-leans-in-to-battletoads-meme-following-e3-trailer/ DualShockers 27 December 2025 en 10 June 2019 June 12, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230612163616/https://www.dualshockers.com/gamestop-leans-in-to-battletoads-meme-following-e3-trailer/ live Francisco Mikael Angelo The History Of Prank Calls Explained https://www.grunge.com/749111/the-history-of-prank-calls-explained/ Grunge 27 December 2025 27 January 2022 April 17, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250417212008/https://www.grunge.com/749111/the-history-of-prank-calls-explained/ live Beginning in early 2011, the 4chan pranksters targeted the Gold and Silver pawn shop, home to the popular television show Pawn Stars. The callers would repeatedly ask the employees if they sold Battletoads. This led Rick Harrison, star of Pawn Stars and owner of the store, to repeatedly swear and yell at the callers, who recorded this and uploaded it to YouTube.Darus Alex The Odd Popular Prank Call They Receive On Pawn Stars https://www.looper.com/493812/the-odd-popular-prank-call-they-receive-on-pawn-stars/ Looper 27 December 2025 21 August 2021 October 17, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251017181648/https://www.looper.com/493812/the-odd-popular-prank-call-they-receive-on-pawn-stars/ live ReadyToPrank https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpmWNpUZmcA https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/BpmWNpUZmcA 2021-12-21 live YouTube 11 September 2012 ReadyToPrank 30 April 2015PrankCallsByReV Prank Call ReV Calls (Pawn Stars) Rick Harrison Cellphone # "Battletoads" 4 April 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ3yTVkL7bQ https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/LQ3yTVkL7bQ 2021-12-21 live YouTube Battletoads developer Rare has acknowledged the prank via an achievement named "Do You Have Battletoads?" in their 2015 game compilation Rare Replay.https://www.polygon.com/2015/6/27/8856213/rare-replay-does-offer-10000-gamerscore-from-a-certain-point-of-view Rare Replay does offer 10,000 Gamerscore — from a certain point of view Good Owen S. Polygon June 27, 2015 November 5, 2019 January 30, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210130011720/https://www.polygon.com/2015/6/27/8856213/rare-replay-does-offer-10000-gamerscore-from-a-certain-point-of-view live While the video game Minecraft was in its early stage of development, its creator Markus "Notch" Persson promoted the game in 4chan, among other places. The video game was subject of discussion in the /v/ board and this contributed to its spread and popularity. As an acknowledgement of the board, "Notch" added the phrase "Woo, /v/!" to one of the title screen's rotating splash messages in a 2010 Java build of the game. Similar references to other websites like Facepunch, Something Awful and TIGSource were also done. This reference never appeared outside the Java version of the game, and was present for over a decade. Only on Java Edition 1.17, launched on 27 May 2021, was the splash message quietly removed with no mention in the patch notes. According to Kotaku contributor Ian Walker, this was done by Microsoft (owner of Minecraft since 2014) in order to distance the company from the legacy of the game's creator.Walker Ian Minecraft Removes Decade-Old 4chan Shoutout https://kotaku.com/minecraft-removes-decade-old-4chan-shoutout-1847010331 kotaku.com Keleops 15 November 2025 1 June 2021 April 27, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250427063030/https://kotaku.com/minecraft-removes-decade-old-4chan-shoutout-1847010331 live McNulty Thomas Minecraft Removes Controversial 4chan Shoutout https://screenrant.com/minecraft-4chan-update-title-screen-text-remove-v/ screenrant.com Valnet 15 November 2025 2 June 2021 December 5, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251205011306/https://screenrant.com/minecraft-4chan-update-title-screen-text-remove-v/ live Since 2011, /v/ has been represented in an online event known as the 4chan Cup: a series of online football matches between different teams that represent each board with their own culture and memes. Using heavily modded versions of different Pro Evolution Soccer video games, the matches are automated (computer-vs-computer) but each team is managed by a human player. The first edition, in which /v/ was already present, took place in August 2011 and is still ongoing as of today, with new boards, divisions and cups being added over the years. Video game journalist João Pedro Boaventura described the 4chan Cup as "an interesting event because it also concerns not only the ability of video games to foster unusual situations, but also its ability to promote a kind of bizarre camaraderie among peers who manage to organize themselves anonymously for a single objective, a goal that was boosted by the advent of the internet."João Pedro Boaventura 4Chan Cup: quando o polêmico imageboard descobre o PES e decide brincar com os seus mods https://www.gameblast.com.br/2018/04/4chan-cup-pes-mods.html www.gameblast.com.br 15 November 2025 Brazilian Portuguese 15 April 2018 December 8, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251208041818/https://www.gameblast.com.br/2018/04/4chan-cup-pes-mods.html live thumb|NPC Wojak in its simplest iteration, created by an anonymous /v/ user Users in the board are sometimes referred to as /v/irgins.Kunzru Hari For the Lulz: 4chan, Gamergate, and how thwarted, angry young men have reshaped political discourse https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2020/03/26/trolls-4chan-gamergate-lulz/ The New York Review of Books 25 December 2025 en 26 March 2020 The board has spawned multiple Internet memes, most notably the NPC Wojak in 2016 (derived from the gaming term non-player character to describe those who do not think for themselves or make their own conscious decisions). It was covered by major and minor news outlets alike, with frequent coverage during its popularity peak in fall 2018. According to The Verge, a few articles (including one by The New York Times published on October 16, 2018) sparked a "domino effect" and led to increased spread of the meme on Twitter, YouTube and through articles.https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/23/17991274/npc-meme-4chan-press-coverage-viral The NPC meme went viral when the media gave it oxygen - The Verge October 23, 2018 The Verge Vox Media December 23, 2019 December 20, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181220030609/https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/23/17991274/npc-meme-4chan-press-coverage-viral live https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/us/politics/npc-twitter-ban.html What Is NPC, the Pro-Trump Internet's New Favorite Insult? October 16, 2018 The New York Times Roose Kevin December 23, 2019 October 19, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181019033210/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/us/politics/npc-twitter-ban.html live NPC Wojak... has become a kind of collective mascot for the far-right commenters online. Gamergate controversy Gamergate thumb|"Vivian James" character created by an anonymous /v/ user. Frequently used as feminine personification of the board.Ringo Allegra Meet the Female Gamer Mascot Born of Anti-Feminist Internet Drama https://www.vice.com/en/article/meet-the-female-gamer-mascot-created-by-anti-feminists-828/ www.vice.com August 28, 2014 29 October 2025 January 14, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160114083321/http://www.vice.com/read/meet-the-female-gamer-mascot-created-by-anti-feminists-828 live The user base of the /v/ board was heavily involved within the Gamergate controversy. The hashtag #notyourshield originated within the board as a response to the criticism of misogyny.Johnston Casey How 4chan manufactured the #GamerGate controversy https://www.wired.com/story/gamergate-chat-logs/ 29 October 2025 www.wired.com 10 September 2014 October 28, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251028172110/https://www.wired.com/story/gamergate-chat-logs/ live According to Torill Elvira Mortensen, "#notyourshield was supposed to show that female and non-White gamers did not want more diversity in games, stopping critics of game culture from using them as an excuse for more diversity."Torill Elvira Mortensen Anger, Fear, and Games: The Long Event of #GamerGate Games and Culture 2016 13 8 10 10.1177/1555412016640408 https://pure.itu.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/82437000/Games_and_Culture.pdf 29 October 2025 1555-4120 November 28, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251128155445/https://pure.itu.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/82437000/Games_and_Culture.pdf live After discussions of Gamergate were banned in 4chan by "moot" in late September 2014, most users active in the campaign moved to 8chan.Massanari Adrienne #Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit's algorithm, governance, and culture support toxic technocultures New Media & Society 9 October 2015 19 3 12 10.1177/1461444815608807 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1461444815608807 29 October 2025 subscription March 24, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220324111633/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1461444815608807 live Greengard Samuel A brief history of 4chan and 8chan https://www.britannica.com/topic/4chan#ref353762 www.britannica.com ncyclopaedia Britannica 29 October 2025 November 8, 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20251108194109/https://www.britannica.com/topic/4chan#ref353762 live During the event, 4chan users and specially /v/ users, supported the Indiegogo project of the group The Fine Young Capitalists (TFYC),Braithwaite Andrea It's About Ethics in Games Journalism? Gamergaters and Geek Masculinity Social Media + Society 7 October 2016 2 4 6 2056305116672484 10.1177/2056305116672484 free which sponsored a video game design contest for women in 2014, founded with the goal of helping women and other underrepresented groups get involved in video game design.Weber Rachel March 28, 2014 New game design contest for women Gamesindustry.biz http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-03-28-new-game-design-content-for-women September 16, 2014 September 17, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140917021655/http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-03-28-new-game-design-content-for-women live Kidd Dustin Turner Amanda J. Novak, Alison El-Burki, Imaani J. Defining Identity and the Changing Scope of Culture in the Digital Age 124–25 2016 IGI Global Hershey, Penn. 978-1-52-250212-8 https://books.google.com/books?id=L9k6DAAAQBAJ&q=gamergate&pg=PA122 The #GamerGate Files: Misogyny in the Media November 11, 2020 November 28, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201128050626/https://books.google.com/books?id=L9k6DAAAQBAJ&q=gamergate&pg=PA122 live As reward for the highest type of donation ($2,000 USD or more), the donors could submit a character design that would be added to the video game. Through /v/ in what was called "Operation Chemo Butthurt" (in reference to how part of the money was going to be given to The Colon Cancer Alliance), the pro-#gamergate 4chan users became the highest contributors to TFYC, raising over $23,000 USD. Afterwards, the character design called "Vivian James", created by an anonymous /v/ user, was added to Afterlife Empire. According to Mahli-Ann Butt and Tom Apperley, "Vivian James emerged from an ad hoc collection of individuals who believed that it was appropriate to harass female game developers, who also thought that they needed to suggest a more inclusive image for #gamergate in order to avoid bad press."Thomas Apperley Mahli-Ann Butt Decolonising the Digital: Technology as Cultural Practice 2019 9780646995878 42–43 https://archive.org/details/decolonizing-the-digital 29 October 2025 "Shut up and play" Vivian James and the presence of women in gaming cultures Tactical Space Lab See also /b/ /pol/ /mlp/ /mu/ Video game culture References Category:4chan Category:Internet properties established in 2004 Category:Video game Internet forums Category:Gamergate