Killer application

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.

History

The first example of a killer application is generally agreed to be the VisiCalc spreadsheet on the Apple II platform (e.g. ). 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.

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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 . Nintendo 64 saw much success with the releases of Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Developers of new platforms now tend to put a lot of effort into discovering or creating the next killer "app" for their technology.

Some killer apps for game consoles:

• Nintendo Entertainment System: Super Mario Bros.
• Sega Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System: Super Mario World
• Nintendo 64: Super Mario 64 or GoldenEye 007
• Sega Dreamcast: Soul Calibur
• Microsoft Xbox: Halo: Combat Evolved

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 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

See also

• Launch title

Further reading

• Larry Downes and Chunka Mui, http://www.killer-apps.com Unleashing The Killer