Killer application

In marketing terminology, a killer application (commonly shortened to killer app) is any computer program or software that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware, a video game console, software, a programming language, a software platform, or an operating system.[1] 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.[2][3]

Examples

One mark of a good computer is the appearance of a piece of software specifically written for that machine that does something that, for a while at least, can only be done on that machine.

— Steven Levy, 1985[4]

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

One of the first recognized examples of a killer application is generally agreed to be the VisiCalc spreadsheet for the Apple II series.[4][5] 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.[6] BYTE wrote in 1980, "VisiCalc is the first program available on a microcomputer that has been responsible for sales of entire systems",[7] while Creative Computing's VisiCalc review was subtitled "reason enough for owning a computer".[8] Others also chose to develop software, such as EasyWriter, for the Apple II first because of its increasing sales.

Lotus 1-2-3 similarly benefited sales of the IBM PC.[4] Noting that computer purchasers did not want PC compatibility as much as compatibility with certain PC software, InfoWorld 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.'"[6][9] Another killer app is WordStar, the most popular word processor during much of the 1980s.[10]

The UNIX Operating System served as a killer application for the DEC PDP-11 minicomputer and VAX-11 minicomputer 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) you had to purchase a VAX-11 computer. Many universities wanted a general-purpose timesharing system that would meet the needs of students and researchers (early versions of UNIX included free compilers for C, Fortran, and Pascal; at the time, offering even one free compiler was unprecedented). From its inception UNIX could drive high-quality typesetting equipment and later PostScript printers using the nroff/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 24 May. 39/1. "Everybody has only one killer application. The secretary has a word processor. The manager has a spreadsheet."[11]

The definition of "killer app" came up during Bill Gates's questioning in the United States v. Microsoft Corp. 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 said that "the killer app is making calls."[12] Reviewing the iPhone's first decade, David Pierce for Wired 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).[13]

Video games

The term has also been applied to computer and video games that persuade consumers to buy a particular video game console 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 are:

• The first generally agreed example of a "killer app" in video games is the 1980 Atari VCS port of the arcade game Space Invaders, which quadrupled sales of the then three-year-old console.[14]
• Star Raiders, released in 1979, was considered to be the killer app for the Atari 400/800 computers.[15] Another was Eastern Front (1941).[16]
• A port of Donkey Kong was the killer app for the ColecoVision console in 1982.
• The Famicom home port of Xevious is considered the console's first killer app, which caused system sales to jump by nearly 2 million units.[17][18]
• The video game website GameTrailers considers the Super Mario Bros. games to be the killer app for nearly all Nintendo home consoles, Tetris as the killer app for the Game Boy, Grand Theft Auto III for the PlayStation 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee for the Nintendo GameCube, and Wii Sports for the Wii.
• Computer Gaming World stated that The Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Phantasy Star II on the Sega Genesis, and Far East of Eden for the NEC TurboGrafx-16 were killer apps for their consoles.[19]
• John Madden Football's popularity in 1990 helped the Genesis gain market share against the Super Nintendo in North America.[20][21]
• Sonic the Hedgehog, released in 1991, was hailed as a killer app as it revived sales of the (by then) three-year-old Genesis. [22]
• Street Fighter II, originally released for arcades in 1991, became a system-seller for the Super Nintendo when it was ported to the platform in 1992.[23]
• Myst and The 7th Guest, both released in 1993, drove adoption of CD-ROM drives for personal computers.[24]
• Pokémon Red and Blue could be called a "killer app" for the seven-year-old Game Boy.
• Super Mario 64,[25] GoldenEye 007 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time could be considered killer apps for the Nintendo 64.
• Wii Sports was the killer app for the Wii because it was packaged with the console and attracted many non-traditional purchasers in the console's early years.
• Tekken 5 and Soulcalibur III, both developed by Namco, were exclusively available for the PlayStation 2.
• Final Fantasy VII became a killer app for the Sony PlayStation console.
• Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel were acclaimed as killer apps for Wii. [26]
• Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 are considered the killer apps for the original Xbox,[27] and the subsequent series entries went on to become killer apps for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.[28]
  • By extension, many video game and technology critics point to Xbox Live as a more general "killer app" for the original Xbox console.[29]
• Gears of War and Uncharted were prominent killer apps for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
• Bloodborne was known as the first killer app for the PlayStation 4 console.[30]
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was considered a killer app as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch.
• Control was considered a potential killer app for Nvidia’s RTX graphics cards.[31]
• Half-Life: Alyx was considered a killer app for virtual reality headsets,[32][33][34] on account of being thought of by many as the first true AAA virtual reality game.[35][36] Sales of VR headsets — such as the Valve Index — increased dramatically after its announcement, suggesting users bought the product specifically for the game.[37]

Other applications

• AmigaOS: Deluxe Paint, Video Toaster
• Mac OS: Microsoft PowerPoint[38] (before 1990)
• RISC OS: Sibelius[39]
• The World Wide Web: the web browsers Mosaic and Netscape Navigator[40][41]; the music-sharing program Napster[42]

See also

• Disruptive innovation
• Killer feature

References

1. "Killer app". Merrian-Webmaster. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
2. Scannell, Ed (February 20, 1989). "OS/2: Waiting for the Killer Applications". InfoWorld. Vol. 11 no. 8. Menlo Park, CA: InfoWorld Publications. pp. 41–45. ISSN 0199-6649. Early use of the term "Killer Application".
3. Kask, Alex (September 18, 1989). "Revolutionary Products Are Not in the Industry's Near Future". InfoWorld. Vol. 11 no. 38. Menlo Park, CA: InfoWorld Publications. p. 68. ISSN 0199-6649. Early use of the term "Killer App".
4. Levy, Steven (January 1985). "The Life and Times of PC junior". Popular Computing. p. 92. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
5. D.J. Power, A Brief History of Spreadsheets, DSSResources.COM, v3.6, 30 August 2004
6. McMullen, Barbara E. and John F. (1984-02-21). "Apple Charts The Course For IBM". PC Magazine. p. 122. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
7. Ramsdell, Robert E (November 1980). "The Power of VisiCalc". BYTE. pp. 190–192. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
8. Green, Doug (August 1980). "VisiCalc: Reason Enough For Owning A Computer". Creative Computing. p. 26. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
9. Clapp, Doug (1984-02-27). "PC compatibility". InfoWorld. p. 22. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
10. Bergin, Thomas J. (Oct–Dec 2006). "The Origins of Word Processing Software for Personal Computers: 1976-1985". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 28 (4): 32–47. doi:10.1109/MAHC.2006.76.
11. Earliest usage cited in Oxford English Dictionary
12. Newton, Cal. "Steve Jobs Never Wanted Us to Use Our iPhones Like This". New York Times. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
13. Pierce, David. "Even Steve Jobs Didn't Predict the iPhone Decade". Wired. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
14. "The Definitive Space Invaders". Retro Gamer. No. 41. Imagine Publishing. September 2007. pp. 24–33. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
15. Williams, Gregg (May 1981). "Star Raiders". BYTE. p. 106. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
16. Greenlaw, Stanley (November–December 1981). "Eastern Front". Computer Gaming World (review). pp. 29–30. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
17. 遠藤昭宏 (June 2003). "ユーゲーが贈るファミコン名作ソフト100選 アクション部門". ユーゲー. No. 7. キルタイムコミュニケーション. pp. 6–12.
18. Kurokawa, Fumio (17 March 2018). "ビデオゲームの語り部たち 第4部：石村繁一氏が語るナムコの歴史と創業者・中村雅哉氏の魅力". 4Gamer.net. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
19. Adams, Roe R. III (November 1990). "Westward Ho! (Toward Japan, That Is)". Computer Gaming World. p. 83. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
20. Hruby, Patrick (2010-08-05). "The Franchise". ESPN. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
21. Fahs, Travis (2008-08-06). "IGN Presents the History of Madden". IGN. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
22. Gates, James. "The Creation of Sonic The Hedgehog". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
23. Patterson, Eric L. (November 3, 2011). "EGM Feature: The 5 Most Influential Japanese Games Day Four: Street Fighter II". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
24. "PC Retroview: Myst". IGN. August 1, 2000. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
25. Hutchinson, Lee (2013-01-13). "How I launched 3 consoles (and found true love) at Babbage's store no. 9". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
26. "Hands-on with Super Mario Galaxy". Engadget. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
27. Craig Glenday, ed (2008-03-11). "Hardware History II". Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008. Guinness World Records. Guinness. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-904994-21-3.
28. Sun, Leo (2016-12-15). "Why 'Halo: The Master Chief Collection' Will Save the Xbox One -- The Motley Fool". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
29. Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (February 24, 2014). "Vintage Game Consoles". Google Books. CRC Press. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
30. Kain, Erik. "'Bloodborne' Review Round-Up: The PS4's First Killer App". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
31. Plante, Chris (2019-09-02). "Why Control looks so much better on PC". Polygon. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
32. McKeand, Kirk (23 March 2020). "Half-Life: Alyx review - VR's killer app is a key component in the Half-Life story". VG247. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
33. Carbotte, Kevin. "Half-Life: Alyx Gameplay Review: (Almost) Every VR Headset Tested". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
34. Robinson, Andrew (23 March 2020). "Review: Half-Life Alyx is VR's stunning killer app". VGC. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
35. Oloman, Jordan. "Half-Life: Alyx is a watershed moment for virtual reality | TechRadar". www.techradar.com.
36. "CES 2020: Teslasuit Will Unveil New Haptic VR Gloves". Tech Times. 27 December 2019.
37. Parlock, Joe (9 December 2019). "The Valve Index VR Headset Sells Out Before Christmas Thanks To 'Half-Life: Alyx'", Forbes. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
38. Pournelle, Jerry (January 1989). "To the Stars". BYTE. p. 109.
39. Bourgeois, Derek (2001-11-01). "Score yourself an orchestra". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2011-05-10. Many composers bought an Archimedes simply to have access to the program.
40. "Killer app definition". PC Magazine.
41. John Markoff (1993-12-08). "BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY; A Free and Simple Computer Link". New York Times.
42. Brad King (2002-05-15). "The Day the Napster Died". Wired.