In marketing terminology, a killer application (commonly shortened to killer app) is any

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to Execution (computing), execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes software documentation, documentation and oth ...

or software that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as

computer hardware Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the case, central processing unit (CPU), random access memory (RAM), monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound card, speakers and motherboard. ...

, a

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to ...

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...

, a

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

, a software platform, or an

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ef ...

. In other words, consumers would buy the (usually expensive) hardware just to run that application. A killer app can substantially increase sales of the platform on which it runs. Early use of the term "Killer Application". Early use of the term "Killer App".

Examples

One of the first recognized examples of a killer application is generally agreed to be the VisiCalc

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in ...

for the

Apple II series The Apple II series (trademarked with square brackets as "Apple ] ''" and rendered on later models as "Apple //") is a family of home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primaril ...

. Because it was not available on other computers for 12 months, people spent $100 for the software first, then $2,000 to $10,000 on the Apple computer they needed to run it. ''

BYTE The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable uni ...

'' wrote in 1980, "VisiCalc is the first program available on a microcomputer that has been responsible for sales of entire systems", while ''

Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format t ...

'' VisiCalc review was subtitled "reason enough for owning a computer". Others also chose to develop software, such as

EasyWriter EasyWriter was a word processor first written for the Apple II series computer in 1979, the first word processor for that platform. History Published by Information Unlimited Software (IUS), it was written by John Draper's Cap'n Software, which a ...

, for the Apple II first because of its increasing sales. Lotus 1-2-3 similarly benefited sales of the

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

. Noting that computer purchasers did not want PC compatibility as much as compatibility with certain PC software, ''

InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (abbreviated IW) is an information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group, and its siste ...

'' suggested "let's tell it like it is. Let's not say 'PC compatible,' or even 'MS-DOS compatible.' Instead, let's say '1-2-3 compatible. Another killer app is WordStar, the most popular

word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current ...

during much of the 1980s. The

UNIX Operating System Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...

served as a killer application for the

DEC PDP-11 The PDP-11 is a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1970 into the 1990s, one of a set of products in the Programmed Data Processor (PDP) series. In total, around 600,000 PDP-11s of all models were sol ...

and VAX-11 minicomputers during roughly 1975–1985. Many of the PDP-11 and VAX-11 processors never ran DEC's operating systems (RSTS or VAX/VMS), but instead, they ran UNIX, which was first licensed in 1975. To get a virtual-memory UNIX ( BSD 3.0), a VAX-11 computer must be purchased. Many universities wanted a general-purpose timesharing system that would meet the needs of students and researchers (early versions of UNIX included free

compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs tha ...

s for C, Fortran, and

Pascal Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to: People and fictional characters * Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name * Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Blaise Pascal, Frenc ...

; at the time, offering even one free compiler was unprecedented). From its inception UNIX could drive high-quality typesetting equipment and later

PostScript PostScript (PS) is a page description language in the electronic publishing and desktop publishing realm. It is a dynamically typed, concatenative programming language. It was created at Adobe Systems by John Warnock, Charles Geschke, Do ...

printers using the

nroff nroff (short for "new roff") is a text-formatting program on Unix and Unix-like operating systems. It produces output suitable for simple fixed-width printers and terminal windows. It is an integral part of the Unix help system, being used t ...

/ troff typesetting language, and this was also unprecedented for its time. UNIX was the first operating system offered in source-license form (a university license cost only $10,000, less than a PDP-11), allowing it to run on an unlimited number of machines, and allowing the machines to interface to any type of hardware because the UNIX I/O system was extensible.

Usage

The first recorded use of the term in print was 1988, in ''

PC Week ''eWeek'' (''Enterprise Newsweekly'', stylized as ''eWEEK''), formerly PCWeek, is a technology and business magazine. Previously owned by QuinStreet; Nashville, Tennessee marketing company TechnologyAdvice acquired eWeek in 2020. The print edi ...

'' 24 May. 39/1. "Everybody has only one killer application. The secretary has a word processor. The manager has a spreadsheet." The definition of "killer app" came up during

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

' questioning in the ''

United States v. Microsoft Corp. ''United States v. Microsoft Corporation'', 253 F.3d 34 (D.C. Cir. 2001), was a landmark American antitrust law case at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The U.S. government accused Microsoft of illegally ...

'' antitrust case. Bill Gates had written an email in which he described Internet Explorer as a killer app. In the questioning, he said that the term meant "a popular application", and did not connote an application that would fuel sales of a larger product or one that would supplant its competition, as the Microsoft Computer Dictionary defined it. Introducing the iPhone in 2007,

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; ...

said that "the killer app is making calls." Reviewing the iPhone's first decade, David Pierce for ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'' wrote that although Jobs did indeed prioritize a good experience making calls in the phone's development, other features of the phone soon turned out to be more important, such as its data connectivity and ability to install third-party software (which was added later). The

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web ...

(through the

web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used o ...

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

and Netscape Navigator) were killer apps that popularized the Internet, as was the

music sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include ...

program

Napster Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing application. It originally launched on June 1, 1999, with an emphasis on digital audio file distribution. Audio songs shared on the service were typically encoded in the MP3 format. It was founded by Sha ...

Killer apps for computers and operating systems

* 1979:

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

: VisiCalc (first spreadsheet program, first killer app) * 1983:

IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones ...

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few o ...

: Lotus 1-2-3 (spreadsheet) * 1985:

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

: Aldus (now Adobe) PageMaker (first desktop publishing program) * 1985:

AmigaOS AmigaOS is a family of proprietary native operating systems of the Amiga and AmigaOne personal computers. It was developed first by Commodore International and introduced with the launch of the first Amiga, the Amiga 1000, in 1985. Early versions ...

: Deluxe Paint,

Video Toaster The NewTek Video Toaster is a combination of hardware and software for the editing and production of NTSC standard-definition video. The plug-in expansion card initially worked with the Amiga 2000 computer and provides a number of BNC conne ...

, Prevue Guide * 1993:

Acorn Archimedes Acorn Archimedes is a family of personal computers designed by Acorn Computers of Cambridge, England. The systems are based on Acorn's own ARM architecture processors and the proprietary operating systems Arthur and RISC OS. The first mode ...

: Sibelius

Killer app games for video game hardware

The term has also been applied to

computer and video games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website w ...

that persuade consumers to buy a particular

or other video game hardware product over a competing one, by virtue of being exclusive to that platform. Such a game is also known in video game parlance as a "system seller". Examples of video game killer applications include: * '' Space Invaders'', originally released for arcades in 1978, became a killer app when it was ported to the

Atari VCS The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...

console in 1980, quadrupling sales of the three-year-old console. * ''

Star Raiders ''Star Raiders'' is a first-person space combat simulator for the Atari 8-bit family of computers. It was written by Doug Neubauer, an Atari employee, and released as a cartridge by Atari in March 1980. The game is considered the platform's kil ...

'', released in 1979, may have been a system-seller for the Atari 400/800 computers. Another was ''

Eastern Front (1941) ''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit family created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also sol ...

'', released in 1981. * In 1996, ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly throug ...

'' wrote that '' Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord'' (1981) "sent AD&D fans scrambling to buy

s". * The

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...

home port of '' Xevious'' is considered the console's first killer app, which caused system sales to jump by nearly 2 million units. * ''Computer Gaming World'' stated that ''

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-relea ...

'' on the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

, '' Phantasy Star II'' on the

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

, and '' Far East of Eden'' for the NEC

TurboGrafx-16 The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

were killer apps for their consoles. * The ''

Super Mario (also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every major Nintendo vide ...

'', ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games. The ...

'', ''

Dragon Quest previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a franchise of Japanese role-playing video games created by Armor Project ( Yuji Horii), Bird Studio (Akira Toriyama) and Sugiyama Kobo ( Koichi Sugiyama) to its pu ...

'' games were killer apps for Nintendo's Famicom and

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...

consoles in Japan. * '' John Madden Football''s popularity in 1990 helped the Genesis gain market share against the Super NES in North America. ** ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...

'', released in 1991, was hailed as a killer app as it revived sales of the (by then) three-year-old Genesis. ** ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a ...

'' helped pushed the sales of the Genesis due to being uncensored unlike the Nintendo version. ** ''

Streets of Rage ''Streets of Rage'' is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up video games, centering on the efforts of several ex-police vigilantes trying to rid a fictional, large American city from a crime syndicate that has corrupted its local government. ...

'' was a system seller for the Mega Drive/Genesis in the UK. * ''

Street Fighter II is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the '' Street Fighter'' series and the sequel to 1987's '' Street Fighter''. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP S ...

'', originally released for arcades in 1991, became a system-seller for the Super NES when it was ported to the platform in 1992. ** ''

Donkey Kong Country ''Donkey Kong Country'' is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare (company), Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a Reboot (fiction), reboot of Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'' franchise and foll ...

'' was another killer app for the SNES, helping Nintendo make a comeback against Sega. * '' Myst'' and '' The 7th Guest'', both released in 1993, drove adoption of

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both com ...

drives for personal computers. *''

Virtua Fighter 2 is a 1994 fighting video game developed by Sega. It is the sequel to 1993's '' Virtua Fighter'' and the second game in the '' Virtua Fighter'' series. It was created by Sega's Yu Suzuki-headed AM2 and was released for the arcades in 1994. Po ...

'', '' NiGHTS into Dreams'' and ''Sakura Wars'' were the killer apps for the Sega Saturn. ** ''Euros 96'' and '' Sega Rally Championship'' were major system-sellers for the Sega Saturn in the United Kingdom, with the latter becoming the fastest selling CD game at the time. **''

Die Hard Arcade ''Die Hard Arcade'', known as in Japan, is an arcade beat 'em up video game released by Sega. It was the first beat 'em up to use texture-mapped 3D polygon graphics, and used a sophisticated move set by contemporary beat 'em up standards, often b ...

'' and ''

Fighters Megamix is a 1996 fighting video game developed by Sega AM2 for the Sega Saturn. It is a video game crossover of various 3D arcade blockbusters by Sega, from the complete cast of ''Virtua Fighter 2'' and '' Fighting Vipers'' to Janet from ''Virtua C ...

'' boosted the Sega Saturn's sales in the United States. *''

Ridge Racer is a racing video game series developed and published for arcade systems and home game consoles by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. The first game, ''Ridge Racer'' (1993), was originally released in arcades for the Namco System 22 ha ...

'', ''

Tekken is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations. The main games in the series ...

'', '' Wipeout'', and ''

Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, ...

'' were the killer apps for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...

. **''

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was r ...

'' was another killer app for the

. ''Computing Japan'' magazine said that it was largely responsible for the PlayStation's global

installed base Installed base (also install base, install ''ed'' user base or just user base) is a measure of the number of units of a product or service that are actually in use, as opposed to market share, which only reflects sales over a particular period. ...

increasing from units sold by November 1996 to units sold by May 1997, a 60% increase. *''

Super Mario 64 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ...

'' and '' GoldenEye 007'' were the killer apps for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

. *''

Virtua Fighter 3 is the sequel to 1994's ''Virtua Fighter 2'' and the third fighting game in the ''Virtua Fighter'' series, developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega in 1996. It was the first arcade game to run on the Sega Model 3 system board. Like its pred ...

'', ''

Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game for Sega's Dreamcast and the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the ...

'', and '' The House of the Dead 2'' were the killer apps for the Dreamcast. *'' Gran Turismo 3'' and the '' Grand Theft Auto'' games were the killer apps for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...

. *'' Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader'', ''

Super Smash Bros. Melee ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'' is a 2001 crossover fighting video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. It features characters from Nintendo ...

'' and '' Super Mario Sunshine'' were the killler apps for the

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...

. * '' Halo: Combat Evolved'' and ''

Halo 2 ''Halo 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox console. ''Halo 2'' is the second installment in the ''Halo'' franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed '' ...

'' are considered the killer apps for the original

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

, and the subsequent series entries went on to become killer apps for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

. ** Many video game and technology critics point to

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...

as a more general "killer app" for the original Xbox console. ** ''

Blue Dragon Blue Dragon may refer to: Biology * '' Glaucus atlanticus'', a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Glaucidae * '' Glaucus marginatus'', a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Glaucidae * '' Pteraeolidia ianthina'', a she ...

'' served as a killer app for the

in Japan. * ''

Wii Sports ''Wii Sports'' is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The 1.0 (pre-release) version of the game was released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and the ...

'' was the killer app for the

Nintendo Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

. * '' Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'' caused a boost in PlayStation 3 sales. * ''

Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It features the '' Mario Kart'' series' game mechanics, in which players drive go-karts using ''Mario'' franchise characters in various race formats. Items placed ...

'' was a killer app for the

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

in the UK. * '' The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'' was the killer app for the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

console. * '' Half-Life: Alyx'' was considered a killer app for

virtual reality headset A virtual reality headset (or VR headset) is a head-mounted device that provides virtual reality for the wearer. VR headsets are widely used with VR video games but they are also used in other applications, including simulators and trainers. VR ...

s, on account of being thought of by many as the first true

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

. Sales of VR headsets — such as the

Valve Index The Valve Index is a consumer virtual reality headset created and manufactured by Valve. Announced on April 30, 2019, the headset was released on June 28 of the same year. The Index is a second-generation headset and the first to be manufacture ...

— increased dramatically after its announcement, suggesting users bought the product specifically for the game. * ''

Microsoft Flight Simulator ''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' is a series of amateur flight simulator programs for Microsoft Windows operating systems, and earlier for MS-DOS and Classic Mac OS. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed sig ...

'' was called a killer app for

Xbox Game Studios Xbox Game Studios (previously known as Microsoft Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Microsoft Games) is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, ...

Xbox Game Pass Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass are video game subscription services from Microsoft. Both services grant users access to a rotating catalog of games from a range of publishers and other premium services, including Xbox Live Gold and EA Play, fo ...

subscription, as well as the

Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 202 ...

Notes

References

{{reflist, 40em Computer jargon Video game marketing

Examples

Usage

Killer apps for computers and operating systems

Killer app games for video game hardware

See also

Notes

References