Generally speaking, a glitch is a fault in any type of system, such as electronics, circuit bending, computing, video games, and even human organizations and in nature itself. In regard to video games, a glitch is any unusual actions in the program that was not intended to occur by those who programmed the game. These glitches may occur as improperly displayed graphics, sound issues, game crashing, game freezing, and inaccuracy in detecting collisions.

Some glitches can be a deterrent to the game, causing the gamer to have to go back to their last save point because the game crashed midway through the game they were playing. Other glitches, however, are advantageous to the gamer because when executed properly theses glitches can increase their overall performance score. Some of the glitches require certain sequences of moves that can be rather complicated, but the end result is a better game. When a gamer takes advantage of these glitches and utilizes them to better his performance, it is called glitching, and those who practice it are called glitchers.

With the onset of increasingly more complex and intricate video games, more and more glitches have gotten through the manufacturers undetected. Many video game manufacturers have the mindset that they will fix the glitches later, which for many gamers is an unacceptable business practice. The more serious gamers would rather the video game manufacturers hold off making the game available to the public until the glitches are fixed, rather than selling the games with the intent of fixing the glitches later, which almost never happens. Yes, gamers can work around the glitches, but the bottom line is, should they have to?