Pip-Boy

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	For the character in Fallout Tactics, see Pipboy.

Fallout / Fallout 2 / Fallout 3 / Fallout: New Vegas / Fallout 4 / Fallout 76 gameplay
Pip-Boy
Game Articles
Pimp-Boy 3 Billion Pip-Boy (Fallout Television Series) Pip-Boy 2000 Pip-Boy 2000 Mark VI Pip-Boy 3000 Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV Pip-Boy 3000 Mark V Pip-Boy Prototype Prototype Pip-Boy 24.008.2A

“The RobCo Pip-Boy is the ultimate in personal computing devices.”— Fallout 4 loading screens

The Pip-Boy is a personal information processor manufactured by RobCo Industries.

Background

Pip-Boys were issued to Vault-Tec Corporation vaults. The version of the device varied by vault, and certain Pip-Boy models could support additions and equipment that other models could not. Usage of Pip-Boy was not exclusive to vaults, as members of the Free States utilized them, and the RobCo Auto-Caches were meant to require such devices. Elijah comments on its usefulness before and after the Great War, calling it a "convenience" and a "crutch."

Publications

“A Personal Information Processor manufactured by RobCo Industries. Under partnership with Vault-Tec, they were issued to many vault residents, though due to production constraints and ongoing development, different vaults received shipments of different versions of the Pip-Boy. The versions most encountered are variants of the Pip-Boy 2000 and Pip-Boy 3000, which are designed to be secured upon the wearer’s wrist. Many models were designed with biometric locks, preventing them from being removed while the wearer still lives.

A Pip-Boy is powered by an internal fission battery, providing a working lifespan for the device far greater than the expected life of its wearer (and, indeed, many Pip-Boys have been handed down within communities or families as heirlooms), and the device itself is sturdy enough to withstand basically anything.
Not all Pip-Boys contain the same functions, but the common functions are:

• A personal status indicator allows the wearer to see a report on their current health and wellbeing and any medical problems currently afflicting them.
  
• The device maintains an ongoing log of the wearer’s activities, journey, and condition, and place for personal recordings to be made in either text or audio forms.
  
• An inbuilt holotape reader allows the device to accept compact holotapes, able to read and playback audio, video, data, and even games.
  
• It also functions as a compass, a radio, and a Geiger counter, and can generate light from its screen equivalent to a flashlight.
  

In addition, all Pip-Boy units aid their wearer during combat thanks to the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or V.A.T.S. A character equipped with a Pip-Boy may use V.A.T.S. when they make an attack, ignoring the normal difficulty increase for targeting a specific location on the enemy.”— Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

By Type

Image	Name	Game
| |	Pip-Boy | |	Fallout Television Series | |
| |	Pip-Boy Prototype | |	| Fallout 4 |
| |	Pip-Boy 2000 | |	| Fallout Fallout 2 Fallout Tactics |
| |	Pip-Boy 2000 Mark VI | |	| | Fallout 76
| |	Pimp-Boy 3 Billion | |	| Fallout: New Vegas |
| |	Pip-Boy 3000 | |	| Fallout 3 Fallout: New Vegas |
| |	Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV | |	| Fallout 4 |
| |	Pip-Boy 3000 Mark V | |	Fallout Television Series | |
| |	Prototype Pip-Boy 24.008.2A | |	Fallout Television Series | |

Notes

• Every NPC in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas who wears a Pip-Boy 3000 has it set on the Stats/Status/CND screen.
• In the classic Macintosh version of Fallout, the Pip-Boy 2000's menu uses PlainTalk to say "Welcome to the RobCo Pip-Boy 2000" upon opening it, as well as reciting the menus you've opened.
• Vault Boy, the company mascot who shows in images which illustrate all of the characteristics of the SPECIAL character system is referred to as "Pipboy" in Fallout Tactics.
• In Fallout Shelter, dwellers exploring the wasteland are equipped with a Pip-Boy.
• The Fallout 4 Manual describes how vault inhabitants register for the device, including taking part in an orientation seminar given by the vault's overseer to explain the functions and daily life enhancements provided by the Pip-Boy. This also required filling out personal information in the Personal Information Processor Responsibility Form regarding such things as hand dominance, personal preferences, arm circumference, and Vault Jumpsuit measurements.
• The Fallout: The Roleplaying Game Rulebook describes the Pip-Boy 2000 and Pip-Boy 3000. The book describes the Pip-Boy's long-term use and internal Fission Battery.
• The Vault Dweller's Survival Guide refers to "Pip" as an acronym, Personal Information Processor. In-game models are capitalized as "Pip-Boy," such as the Pip-Boy 2000, Pip-Boy 2000 Mark VI, Pip-Boy 3000, and Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV.

Appearances

Pip-Boys appear in Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76.

Behind the scenes

• Leonard Boyarsky clarified that the Pip-Boy and the Vault Boy are two separate entities, and that the former was based on the Bob's Big Boy mascot.
• Pip-Boys were planned for inclusion in Van Buren, named "Lil' Pip 3000" and "Super Pip-Boy."
• The Pip-Boy is included as a promotional item for the Engineer in Team Fortress 2. When equipped, it will change the Engineer's construction PDA display to a green-and-black display and adds an image of the Engineer in the style of the Vault Boy art.
• The Pip-Boy has an article on Wikipedia.

Gallery

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  Nifskope render of 2000 Mark VI

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  Fallout 4 Pip-Boy concept art

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  Team Fortress promo item

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References

Publications

Design Documents

Developer Statements