what does "beta" mean (in video games)?

beta is a stage of development before final production (when the game is finalized and released). Games are usually released to the public during this stage for a certain amount of time to test for bugs/glitches and get general feedback

Software goes through several stages before it's deemed ready for release. The final two are "Alpha" and "Beta."

Beta software is the developer's indication that the game is very very close to completion and only requires a few more finishing touches before it will be ready to go. "Beta testers" are important because they are the last line of defense for finding problems before the software gets massively copied, printed onto discs, and shipped around the world.

Beta means it's not done. There are potentially still bugs and glitches that need to be found and fixed. This can only be done by people playing the game, however. It's called "beta testing."

beta means that the game is in an early version of it, therefore changes may be made between this version and the final version

beta is usually a testing phase where a few people are chosen to play the game, their feedback helps determine what changes have to made to the game

It means it's in testing. Like the new WoW expansion, Cataclysm. It was in a closed beta, meaning only Blizzard employees and family could test it.

It means that it's in testing. They give you a beta to test the gameplay and if there are any bugs or glitches that they can fix before the release.

"Lag" is short for Lagging. Which means your connection is processing less that 30fps (frames per second). When this happens your character will often jump around at random and seem to shoot at nothing. Usually Lagging occurs when you have more than one or two different electronics receiving your connection at once i.e. xbox 360 & a laptop computer. Usually if you reset your router or turn off one of the electronics that is receiving the internet connection the connection will be just fine. Hope this helped

It is a test by the company for real players (like experimenting with food with different test subjects) and they get to play future games/expansions/updates that will significantly add on or enhance the game, and they receive feedback (most of the time) from these subjects about how to perfect their newest product

"beta" refers to online demo's that are released prior to the game so that the developers can test it out before officially releasing the game.

the game is under development but you can play early with few features