History Main / KillerApp

** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoChinatownWars'' wasn't quite the Killer it was expected to be on the DS, but made a huge impact on [[IOSGames the iPhone platform.]] It's success essentially gave the greenlight for other developers to create DarkerAndEdgier games for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

** ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'' seems to have become Japan's new killer app for the 3DS. The game sold two million copies in less than six weeks - the first 3DS game to reach that milestone in Japan - and has remained at the top of the Japanese charts since its release in November 2012. In the US, some have called it a Killer App for Nintendo's release of triple-A titles digitally through the E-Shop services, being a game for which having constant access on your systems at any time adds enough to the experience to assuage concerns over the lack of physical ownership of a cartridge.

* The 3DS now has AnimalCrossing: New Leaf as it's killer app. Said game sold two million copies within the first 6 weeks of launch and even helped revive the sales of 3DS consoles.

** {{Music/Pink Floyd}}'s ''DarkSideOfTheMoon'' was also a killer app for [=CDs=], as the album's high sound quality had long been used to demonstrate audio equipment. At one point in TheEighties EMI had an entire CD plant dedicated to churning out copies of ''Dark Side of the Moon''.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' is the absolute [=GameCube=] killer app, its quality '''far''' surpassed its predecessor, and it's still being played [[TournamentPlay competitively]] more than 10 years after its release, a life of a FightingGame surpassed only by ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'' by '''1 year'''.

** ''Resident Evil 4'' was even released as part of Capcom's initiative to bring five new exclusive games to the GameCube to support the platform. Unfortunately, one of them (''Dead Phoenix'') was [[{{Vaporware}} never released]], three of them (''Resident Evil 4'', ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'', ''VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'') were ported to the {{PlayStation 2}}, and the only game to remain a GameCube exclusive (''PN03'') didn't sell many copies and was critically panned.
** At the console's release, StarWarsRogueSquadron2 was considered the Gamecube's Killer App at launch and even held the title after Smash Bros Melee was released a couple months later. When the console was released in Europe, Rogue Squadron 2 was it top selling game, beating out Nintendo's first party titles.

** 2007 saw ''Wii Play'', which helped ensure that most Wii owners would have multiple controllers, party games like ''Mario Party 8'' and Mario and ''Sonic at the Olympic Games'', and ''Super Mario Galaxy'', the 2nd best selling 3D platformer of all time. ''Wii Fit'', which was released in the West in 2008, was more popular than the [=PS3=] for a while, but support for the peripheral hardware never caught on.
** 2008 had ''Mario Kart Wii'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' Nintendo's premiere games for multiplayer and the best selling games in the history of their genres. The new ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' and ''Wii Music'' were likely meant to become Killer Apps, but poor reception amongst the hardcore audience turned these into mere hits.

** To put this in better perspective, ''multiple'' ''Pokémon'' games are among the best-selling Game Boy Advance and DS games. The best selling titles on the Game Boy Advance were ''Ruby and Sapphire'', which sold over 15 million units, ''[=FireRed/LeafGreen=]'', which sold over 10 million units, and Emerald, with over 6 million units. Even the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonRescueTeam'', a spinoff by a 3rd party which also was sold on the DS as Blue version, was one of the system's top 20 selling titles, beating out games like ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'', ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap''. The series was not quite so dominant on the DS, but this was due to the market's growth outstripping the franchise, not a loss in popularity.

** ''Pokémon''[='s=] latest installment, ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', came out in September 2010, and it's already the fastest selling DS game in history.

** Blackberry messenger was a killer app for Blackberry phones, unfortunately for them that changed once cross platform messaging apps appeared in android and Ios

* Also for the Playstation Vita, we have ''VideoGame/GravityRush''.

* Also for the Playstation Vita, we have ''VideoGame/GravityRush'' (or ''[[MarketBasedTitle Gravity Daze]]'' in Japan), one of the highest-rated games on the Vita, a must-have for the system, and practically a system-seller, especially due to the fact that Playstation Plus users get it for free. Kat is even becoming the face of the Vita. Other top-selling Vita games include ''Uncharted: Golden Abyss'', ''Ultimate VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', and ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio''.

** High fantasy not your thing? Then you've probably got at least one ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' or ''MassEffect'' game in your library.

** At the console's release, StarWarsRogueSquadron2 was considered the Gamecube's Killer App at launch and even held the title after Smash Bros Melee was released a couple months later.

** Spreadsheets seem to get a lot of this: Excel, for example, is Microsoft Office's Killer App. It also helped two [=WIMP=][[labelnote:*]]Windows/Icon/Menu/Pointing Device[[/labelnote]] platforms get off the ground: first, it was one of the killer apps (if not ''the'' killer app) for Macintosh, and a couple of years later (1987) Excel became the main reason to use the fledgling Microsoft Windows.

* The WiiU launched with the expected standbys of ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' and ''Wii Sports''' successor ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'', but ''VideoGame/ZombiU'' also sold a number of systems among the hardcore. Later on, ''VideoGame/LegoCityUndercover'' also made a good impact. Notably, ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'' was also anticipated to be a Killer App in this timeframe, but was delayed and made a multiplatform release due to the [=WiiU=]'s slow start. Part of the reason fans were so upset about the delay was because such a move seemed to strip it of its Killer App status, both by making it available on other systems and by moving its release to a time with much tougher competition (but in a way, making it multi-platform was probably for the better, seeing as how most ''Rayman'' fans are PC and/or Playstation gamers).
** ''The Wonderful 101'' and ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta 2}}'' are also expected to be killer apps for the [=WiiU=], since all of Platinum Games' works are {{Cult Classic}}s, and thanks to ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'''s high sales and their previous games selling much better through digital distribution, these games will really draw the hardcore crowd into buying a [=WiiU=].

** Spreadsheets seem to get a lot of this: Excel, for example, is Microsoft Office's Killer App.

** ''VideoGame/{{Killzone 2}}'', which is essentially the ''Halo 3'' for the [=PS3=].

** Likewise, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' for the {{SNES}}, which was packaged with all SNES units.

* ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}: Circle of the Moon'' was considered a Killer App when it was first released for the Game Boy Advance. However, more than anything, the GBA was built on the base of the UpdatedRerelease, with every quality SNES title ported over for a new generation to open their wallets for.

** ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'' seems to have become Japan's new killer app for the 3DS. The game sold two million copies in less than six weeks - the first 3DS game to reach that milestone in Japan - and has remained at the top of the Japanese charts since its release in November 2012.

** ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'' seems to have become Japan's new killer app for the 3DS. The game sold two million copies in less than six weeks - the first 3DS game to reach that milestone in Japan - and has remained at the top of the Japanese charts since its release in November 2012. Sadly, European and American markets must wait until Spring / Summer 2013 to get their hands on it...

* When the TurboGrafx16's CD add-on came out, NEC's marketing division, TTI, was quick to promote the two CD ShootEmUp titles available for it, ''Gate of Thunder'' and ''Lords of Thunder'', as being its flagship titles, even ahead of console mascot Bonk. ''VideoGame/{{Ys}} Books 1 & 2'' was also highly lauded.

* What ''Film/TheMatrix'' was to [=DVDs=], {{Music/Dire Straits}}' album ''Brothers in Arms'' was to[=CDs=], as it was the first album to sell over a million copies in the format and the first to outsell the LP version. The albums's insanely high sound quality showed off what those shiny little discs could do.

** You mean ''[=GL=]{{Quake}}'' wasn't reason enough? (While it's not the first 3D-accelerated version of ''{{Quake}}'', with ''[=VQuake=]'' for Rendition Verite cards having been released earlier, ''[=GLQuake=]'' made 3dfx Voodoo Graphics cards sell like hotcakes.)

* The ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpires'' series, ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'' was in particular one of the most successful and well crafted PC RTS games of its time, and still maintains a large player and modding community despite being a decade old.

* Windows XP only really started to die off in favour of Windows 7 when ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' was announced to be Windows 7/Vista exclusive.

* {{Music/Pink Floyd}}'s ''DarkSideOfTheMoon'' was a killer app for [=CDs=], as the album's high sound quality had long been used to demonstrate audio equipment. At one point in TheEighties EMI had an entire CD plant dedicated to churning out copies of ''Dark Side of the Moon''.
** {{Music/Dire Straits}}' album ''Brothers in Arms'' was the true killer app, as it was the first album to sell over a million copies in the format and the first to outsell the LP version.

* A lot of people bought DVD players just to use {{Netflix}}.

** Likewise, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' for the {{SNES}}.
* The SNES also floated high on ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' and the port of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII,'' which was packaged with the console. The ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' series also allowed the SNES to remain popular into the 32-bit era, while Sega stumbled with the [[OtherSegaSystems Sega CD, 32X]] and SegaSaturn confusion.
* Initially ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and then ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'', ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' for the {{Nintendo 64}}. The system became infamous later in its lifespan for releasing one or two Killer Apps a year, but not much else.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros. Melee'' is the absolute [=GameCube=] killer app, as it's still being played [[TournamentPlay competitively]] more than 10 years after its release, a life of a FightingGame surpassed only by ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'' by '''1 year'''.
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros. Melee'', ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', ''EternalDarkness'' and ''MetroidPrime'' convinced the hardcore gamers that the GameCube wasn't a kiddie wasteland, to quote the Top 10 GameCube games video from ScrewAttack:
-->''When [[MetroidPrime this game]] was first announced, [[TaintedByThePreview we thought it was going to]] '''suck'''. How wrong we were. How wrong we were.''
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' was even released as part of Capcom's initiative to bring five new exclusive games to the GameCube to support the platform. Unfortunately, one of them (''Dead Phoenix'') was [[{{Vaporware}} never released]], three of them (''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', ''ViewtifulJoe'', ''{{killer7}}'') were ported to the {{PlayStation 2}}, and the only game to remain a GameCube exclusive (''PN03'') didn't sell many copies and was critically panned.

** 2007 saw ''Wii Play'', which helped ensure that most Wii owners would have multiple controllers, party games like ''Mario Party 8'' and Mario and ''Sonic at the Olympic Games'', and ''Super Mario Galaxy'', the 2nd best selling 3D platformer of all time. ''Wii Fit'', which was released in the West in 2008, was more popular than the ''PS3'' for a while, but support for the peripheral hardware never caught on.
** 2008 had ''Mario Kart Wii'' and ''Super Smash Bros Brawl'' Nintendo's premiere games for multiplayer and the best selling games in the history of their genres. ''Animal Crossing'' and ''Wii Music'' were likely meant to become Killer Apps, but poor reception amongst the hardcore audience turned these into mere hits.
** 2009 was another year of multiple killer apps. ''New Super Mario Bros Wii'' was the big holiday title, and is often given at least partial credit for the resurrection of platformers on consoles. ''Wii Sports Resort'' popularized the Wii [=MotionPlus=], which would be used in other games such as ''Skyward Sword''.

* The WiiU launched with the expected standbys of ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' and ''Wii Sports''' successor ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'', but ''VideoGame/ZombiU'' also sold a number of systems among the hardcore. Later on, ''VideoGame/LegoCityUndercover'' also made a good impact. Notably, ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'' was also anticipated to be a Killer App in this timeframe, but was delayed and made a multiplatform release due to the WiiU's slow start. Part of the reason fans were so upset about the delay was because such a move seemed to strip it of its Killer App status, both by making it available on other systems and by moving its release to a time with much tougher competition.

** To put this in better perspective, ''multiple'' ''Pokémon'' games are among the best-selling Game Boy Advance and DS games. The best selling titles on the Game Boy Advance were ''Ruby and Sapphire'', which sold over 15 million units, ''[=FireRed/LeafGreen=]'', which sold over 10 million units, and Emerald, with over 6 million units. Even the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonRescueTeam'', a spinoff by a 3rd party which also was sold on the DS as Blue version, was one of the system's top 20 selling titles, beating out games like ''KingdomHearts'', ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'', ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', and ''TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap''. The series was not quite so dominant on the DS, but this was due to the market's growth outstripping the franchise, not a loss in popularity.

** ''Pokémon''[='s=] most recent installment, ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', came out only a few days before this entry (9/20/10), and it's already the fastest selling DS game in history.
%%Let's not natter here!
* ''{{Nintendogs}}'', ''BrainAge'' (for older gamers), ''VideoGame/MarioKart DS'' and ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' (for the Nintendo Faithful), and its quirkier casual games in general, for the NintendoDS.

** ''GrandTheftAutoChinatownWars'' wasn't quite the Killer it was expected to be on the DS, but made a huge impact on [[IphoneGames the iPhone platform.]] It's success essentially gave the greenlight for other developers to create DarkerAndEdgier games for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

** Those last three games were the three best selling games in Japan during 2011, despite only being out for less than two months. ''SuperMario3DLand'' sold over five million copies in just two months worldwide, outselling games like ''GearsOfWar 3'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' on the 360. ''MarioKart 7'' sold 4.3 million in 5 weeks. Put together, the two Mario games represent a third of 3DS software sold in 2011. Combine those Mario games with ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''{{Nintendogs}} + cats'', you have over one half of all 3DS software sold through 2011.
** [[AnimalCrossing Animal Crossing: New Leaf]] seems to have become Japan's new killer app for the 3DS. The game sold two million copies in less than six weeks - the first 3DS game to reach that milestone in Japan - and has remained at the top of the Japanese charts since its release in November 2012. Sadly, European and American markets must wait until Spring / Summer 2013 to get their hands on it...

* When the NES first launched it came with R.O.B., your RoboticOperatingBuddy. R.O.B. could play two games, both of them borderline unplayable, and the R.O.B. itself only seemed to function half the time. However, it was key in making the system seem less like a "videogame console" (which was a dirty word at the time, considering the video game crash of the early 80's). Essentially, it was a ''fake'' KillerApp... something that seemed like the must-own technology of the future that handily snuck some more important hardware into homes.

* The ''SonicTheHedgehog'' series on the Mega Drive[=/=]SegaGenesis, as well as the first ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' game for (U.S.) sports fans. The bloody version of [[VideoGame/MortalKombat the first]] ''MortalKombat'' also was a boon in distinguishing it from the SNES.

* When ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'' was released in Japan, it sold almost as many copies as the SegaCD. That, and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'', were, if not killer apps, the nearest thing the Sega CD/Mega CD had.

* ''VideoGame/NiGHTSIntoDreams'' served as a primary reason to buy a Sega Saturn. Other games for the system with massive popularity include ''VideoGame/DragonForce'' (absolutely no relation to [[Music/DragonForce the thrash metal band of the same name]]) and ''[[VideoGame/{{Bomberman}} Saturn Bomberman]]'' (often referred to by reviewers as the best game in it's series).
* The beyond-the-arcade port of ''[[SoulSeries Soulcalibur]]'' was ''the'' reason to get a {{Dreamcast}}, even though it wasn't enough to move sales of the system. Interestingly, the death of the Dreamcast (and the end of Sega's hardware history) was heralded by EA denying Sega a port of ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'', the same killer app that made their own company what it is today, and wouldn't have done so without the parent company's help. EtTuBrute

** Another killer app was ''{{Shenmue}}'', which had generated considerable hype for the console, even though its huge budget eventually led to it becoming a financial failure despite solid sales.

* ''VideoGame/BattleArenaToshinden'' was hyped as the first killer app for PlayStation, a "''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' Killer". It took at first, but the quality of later games overtook it and now it's currently forgotten. The real killer apps ended up being ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'', ''Franchise/TombRaider'', ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', and especially ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', and to a lesser extent, ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot1996'' and ''SpyroTheDragon''. The system's sheer number of killer apps is the main reason it was able to take the video game throne from Nintendo in the mid '90s.

* The {{PlayStation 2}} received four major killer apps in 2001: ''[[{{GranTurismo}} Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec]]'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', especially ''MetalGearSolid2'', and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII''. Coincidentally -- or perhaps not -- this coincided with release of two of its competitors' consoles, GameCube and Xbox.
** Due to the anticipation generated by its pre-release hype, ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' is credited for the PlayStation 2's victory over the Dreamcast before the game was even released.

** ''MetalGearSolid3'' is widely considered one of the PS2's best games (if not the best).
** The PS2 had so many killer apps lined up that ''GodOfWar'' doesn't make this list simply because it just flat-out wasn't needed.

* ''MetalGearSolid4'' was a fairly important killer app for the PS3. What's most notable is that Snake's [[GuestFighter appearance]] in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'', specifically his own stage, has a massive amount of {{Foreshadowing}} for this game. ''[[{{Irony}} Foreshadowing on the killer app of a direct competitor]]''.
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar III'', though not hurt by being released at the time the price cut was taking effect.
* The ''Uncharted'' series has been this, but it has never been more apparent than with ''Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception'', which sold [[http://ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1212156p1.html 3.8 million copies during the first day of release]], something rarely heard of for console exclusive games.
* ''{{Persona 4}}: [[UpdatedRerelease The Golden]]'' is this for the Vita in Japan, which was lagging behind. It sold 137 thousand copies along with 34 thousand units. Time will tell if this is the same with the international market.
* ''VideoGame/GravityRush'' (or ''[[MarketBasedTitle Gravity Daze]]'' in Japan), one of the highest-rated games on the Vita and a must-have for the system.

** And ''{{VideoGame/Halo 2}}'' for the XboxLive multiplayer service.
** And ''{{VideoGame/Halo 3}}'' for the {{Xbox 360}}. You may notice a theme here.

* ''GearsOfWar'' and ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' were among the first great games for the Xbox 360.
** ''MassEffect'' and its sequels kept the Xbox afloat when the ''Halo'' franchise finally started to run out of steam.
* Like the GameboyAdvance, XboxLiveArcade has sold mainly on a stream of solid indie, ranging from ''GeometryWars'' to ''ShadowComplex''.
* This trope is mostly inverted when it comes to Japan, as they has not taken to either system much like it's competition. So far, the closest the 360 has to a killer app there is a hit game that boosts sales for a week or so then they fall back to just selling a few thousand a week until the next hit game. These "boost" games include ''BlueDragon'' (AkiraToriyama's involvement helped, too), ''AceCombat6'', ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' (so it was mainly a {{Fanboy}} issue when the [=PS3=] got a port, not a sales issue) and ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope''.

* ''{{Half-Life}} 2'' and Counter Strike Source was responsible for {{Steam}}'s success today, and the popularity of digital distribution as a whole, though that might have something to do with the games ''requiring'' Steam to play.

** In fact, ''DragonQuest'' is such a killer app in Japan that even [[SalaryMan Salarymen]] will take a day off and students form the most prodigious schools will cut class just to buy a copy on the day it becomes available for sale.