Killer application

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A killer application (commonly shortened to killer app) is a computer program that is so useful or desirable that it proves the value of some underlying technology, such as a gaming console, operating system, or piece of computer hardware.

The definition is sometimes extended to include any instance of a general principle or feature that becomes so successful that people will assimilate the application and the principle. In that sense, the automobile could be a killer app for the reciprocating engine, the light bulb for electricity.

VisiCalc, the earliest generally-agreed example of a killer application.

1 History
2 Killer Games
- 2.1 Examples of Killer Games
- 2.2 Importance
3 References
4 See also
5 Further reading

[edit] History

The first example of a killer application is generally agreed to be the VisiCalc spreadsheet on the Apple II platform (e.g. ^[1]). The machine was purchased in the thousands by finance workers (in particular, bond traders) on the strength of this one program. The next example is another spreadsheet, Lotus 1-2-3. Sales of IBM's PC had been slow until 1-2-3 was released, but only months later it became the best-selling computer.

A killer app can provide an important niche market for a non-mainstream platform. Aldus PageMaker and Adobe PostScript gave the graphic design and desktop publishing niche to the Apple Macintosh in the late 1980s, a niche it retains to this day despite the fact that PCs running Windows have been capable of running versions of the same applications since the early 1990s.

Bungie Studios' Halo compelled many to purchase the Xbox.

There have been a number of new uses of the term. For instance the usefulness of e-mail drew many people to use computer networks, while the Mosaic web browser is generally credited with the popularization of the World Wide Web and hence the Internet. The term has also been applied to computer and video games that cause consumers to buy a particular video game console or gaming hardware to play them; an example of this is the game Halo, which turned the Xbox console into a commercial success that it may not have been otherwise. Likewise, the 1993 adventure game Myst compelled many PC users to add CD-ROM drives to their computers, as the game was not available on floppy disk. Sony's PlayStation console saw increased sales when Final Fantasy VII was released. Nintendo 64 saw much success with the releases of Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. See "Killer Games" below for more information.

Developers of new platforms now tend to put a lot of effort into discovering or creating the next killer "app" for their technology, in the hope that it will be the breakthrough needed to get the technology adopted. This has led to the burgeoning list of features on, for example, mobile telephones, such as text messaging, digital cameras, etc., though many maintain that the killer app for telephone technology is, and always has been, live peer-to-peer voice transmission.

Computer experts sometimes use the phrase with reference to other technologies to explain its significance to laypersons. In this context a killer application refers to a certain usage of that technology that makes the technology popular and successful. This usage of the term is especially prevalent when the technology existed before but did not take off before the introduction of the killer application. Examples for this:

technology	killer application
electricity	electric lighting
internal combustion engine	the automobile (though motorboat "one-lunger" engines were the first widespread sales)
Internet	e-mail, World Wide Web

[edit] Killer Games

A killer game is a video game that is popular to the extent that many buy a particular video game console or upgrade their computer hardware simply to play it. "Killer game" is a marketing term used to describe the commercial success of a game in causing sales of hardware, not a colloquial term to describe popularity. A killer game is one type of killer application. Like other types of "killer apps," it is frequently difficult to determine whether it is the popularity of a particular game title that causes sales of a system to rise – the rise of console or hardware sales may often be attributed to extraneous factors (see also the "correlation implies causation" logical fallacy).

[edit] Examples of Killer Games

Links 386 Pro - for Intel 80386 processor MS-DOS PC's
Myst - for CD-ROM equipped PC's
Super Mario Bros. - for NES
Tetris and Pokemon - for Game Boy
Sonic the Hedgehog - for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Street Fighter II and Donkey Kong Country - for Super NES
- Although Street Fighter II was released for other home consoles, the Super NES superior graphics and sound prompted many consumers to buy the Super NES just to play Street Fighter II.
Super Mario 64, Goldeneye 007 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - for Nintendo 64
Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid - for PlayStation
Resident Evil 4 and Super Smash Bros. Melee - for GameCube
Grand Theft Auto III, Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 3 - for PlayStation 2
Halo: Combat Evolved - for Xbox

[edit] Importance

To a video game console manufacturer, having such a game available for its platform is critical to a platform's market success. The failure of home video game systems such as the 3DO, as well as handhelds like the Atari Lynx and the Game.com can be attributed to the fact that no killer game emerged for those systems. Conversely, the early success of the Nintendo Game Boy is almost universally regarded as a result of the killer game Tetris [1] [2], which analysts say was a game with universal appeal that suited the Game Boy's strengths and limitations.

A killer game can also have great impact on competing hardware in the market. If a killer title is available for one console or set of hardware but not the other, consumers may be unlikely to purchase the second console in anticipation of the killer game on the first console, even if there are other reasons to purchase the second console.