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Killer application

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A killer application (commonly shortened to killer app), in the jargon of computer programmers and video gamers, has been used to refer to any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware like a gaming console, operating system or other software. A killer app can substantially increase sales of the platform on which it runs.

Examples

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

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One of the first examples of a killer application is generally agreed to be the VisiCalc spreadsheet on the Apple II platform. The machine was purchased in the thousands by finance workers (in particular, bond traders) on the strength of this program. The next example is another spreadsheet, Lotus 1-2-3. Sales of IBM's PC had been slow until 1-2-3 was made public, and then increased rapidly a few months after Lotus 1-2-3's initial release.

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 or Linux have been capable of running versions of some of the same applications since the early 1990s.

The term has also been applied to computer and video games that cause consumers to buy a particular video game console or gaming hardware. An example of a killer application is Star Raiders, released in 1979 on cartridge for the Atari 8-bit computer. Another "killer app", Space Invaders, was released in 1980 and quadrupled sales of then three year old Atari 2600 platform. The VCS became a sell-out over Christmas. Sonic the Hedgehog was also hailed a killer app for the Sega Genesis. The Game Boy saw Tetris, and the Nintendo 64 saw much success with the releases of GoldenEye 007, Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The original Playstation revitalized the RPG genre with Final Fantasy VII. Grand Theft Auto 3 was a killer app for the PlayStation 2. Wii Sports, a free compilation 5-in-1 sports title bundled alongside every Wii console is also a killer app that helped to sell the console outside Japan, demonstrate the motion control functions of its innovative controller, and break sales records since the console's debut. The Halo series for the Xbox is also considered a "killer app."

Selected applications for computer systems

• Altair 8800: Microsoft BASIC
• Apple II: VisiCalc
• Amiga: Deluxe Paint, Video Toaster
• Atari ST: C-Lab Creator/Logic Pro and Cubase
• IBM PC: WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, Novell NetWare
• Intel 80486: Doom
• Linux: Apache
• Macintosh: Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe Photoshop
• Macintosh Quadra: Sound Tools
• Mac OS X: iLife
• NeXT: Lotus Improv
• RISC OS: Sibelius (before 1998)
• Solaris: Oracle Database
• Windows 3.1: Microsoft Office
• Xbox: Halo: Combat Evolved

See also

• Law of disruption
• Launch title
• List of best-selling video games

References