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System Slugs

A system slug is the canonical short name of a gaming system. The Universal Saves Format carries it in the system header field, and other specs use the same names wherever a system is identified.

A slug follows the slug grammar every vocabulary in these specifications shares: lowercase ASCII, single hyphens between runs, at most 64 bytes. Each system has exactly one slug. The Also seen as column records names other tools use for the same system (directory names, core names, database labels); they help a producer map its input to the right slug, and are never emitted.

A slug names one system, not a family. Successive generations get their own slug even where their media are compatible, so psx and ps2 are separate despite a PS2 reading PS1 cards. Emulators support a system rather than a family, and file-format compatibility is not system identity: converting a PS2 card for a PS1 emulator is meaningless, and keeping the slugs apart is what lets a tool decline it by ordinary matching instead of a special case. Where two systems genuinely are interchangeable for some purpose, that is a policy the tool holds, not a fact the slug carries.

The list is non-normative and first-come; to add a system, open a PR with a row in alphabetical order.

SlugSystemAlso seen as
3do3DOthreedo
3dsNintendo 3DS
atari-2600Atari 26002600
atari-5200Atari 52005200
atari-7800Atari 78007800
atari-jaguarAtari Jaguarjaguar
atari-jaguar-cdAtari Jaguar CD
atari-lynxAtari Lynxlynx
c64Commodore 64commodore64
colecovisionColecoVisioncoleco
dreamcastDreamcastdc
fdsFamicom Disk Systemfamicomdisk
gbGame Boygameboy
gbaGame Boy Advancegameboyadvance
gbcGame Boy Colorgameboycolor
gcGameCubegamecube, ngc
genesisSega Genesismegadrive, md
intellivisionIntellivisionintv
mameArcadearcade
mastersystemMaster Systemsms
msxMSX
msx2MSX2
n64Nintendo 64
ndsNintendo DS
neogeoNeo Geo
nesNES
ngpNeo Geo Pocketneogeopocket
ngpcNeo Geo Pocket Colorneogeopocketcolor
odyssey2Odyssey 2
pcengineTurboGrafx-16pce
pcenginecdTurboGrafx-CDpcecd
pcfxPC-FX
ps2PlayStation 2playstation2
ps3PlayStation 3playstation3
pspPlayStation Portable
psvitaPlayStation Vitavita, psv
psxPlayStationplaystation, ps1
saturnSega Saturn
sega-32xSega 32X32x
sega-cdSega CDsegacd, scd
sega-ggGame Geargamegear, gg
sg-1000SG-1000sg
snesSuper Nintendo
supergrafxSuperGrafxsgx
vectrexVectrex
virtualboyVirtual Boyvb
wiiWii
wonderswanWonderSwanws
wonderswan-colorWonderSwan Colorwsc