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A killer app is defined in the jargon dictionary as the application that actually makes a sustaining market for a promising but under-utilised technology. However in its most derivative state it can be described as an application (hence the app part) which will make a console (or a PC) a must have purchase, a game so devilishly awesome and compulsive that it feels like you can’t live another day without it. Throughout videogame history developers and console makers have tried to exploit the killer app to shift the maximum amount of consoles from the shelves.
Perhaps the most famous killer app in the whole of history is that which appeared on the humble Gameboy released in 1995, an unknown of the videogames industry made the game, his name is Alexey Pajitnov, however he was also helped by Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov. Tetris, like any addictive game was a very simple affair. The idea being to line up falling blocks in such a way as to remove them from play, it was a game so addictive because of its ability to play on our instinct of cleanliness (well for some of us). In the end the game was a massive hit, it ended up being bundled free with the Gameboy which, flew off the shelves and still remains Nintendo’s best selling console.
The Mega Drive is next in my selection of hand picked beauties; first released in Japan in 1989 this was the successor to the Master System. The killer app for this console is in my opinion Sonic the hedgehog; the game was quite frankly blisteringly fast, where early levels could be completed within the space of a minute, provided you knew it with sufficient detail. The game spawned several sequels, and as such became a series on the system.
Nintendo’s Super Nintendo is perhaps one of the best-loved consoles in history, I know I certainly love mine. The killer app on the SNES was of course Super Mario World, this heralded a revolution in 2D platforming action, and still today holds is head up against some of the newest platformers on the market. The game was very well received and helped claw back lost ground against the Mega Drive for Nintendo, the game is being re-released onto the Game Boy Advance in the form of Mario advance 2.
Sega then struck back with the first 32-bit console on the market with the often under-rated Saturn, which in the hands of a good developer was more powerful than the Playstation. There were a few must have games on this console, the first on the hit list is NiGHTS, this was a very original game for its time and is still regarded as a modern masterpiece, its best description is a psychedelic experience. Secondly was the awesome Panzer Dragoon Saga, it was a part RPG, part flight sim, it was a game which many felt should see a sequel, and spawned several online petitions.
Well now it comes to Sony’s turn, the PSX was a runaway success story for its makers. The brainchild of Ken (father of the Playstation) Kutaragi, its first certifiable killer app would be Namco’s Ridge Racer, now I m not into racing games at all, but even I found the game pleasurable, the graphics were good for the time and the tracks very well designed. Furthermore the release of Tekken further attracted attention to the system
The 64-bit hybrid first codenamed Ultra 64 from Nintendo, which later became the Nintendo 64, is home to the most influential platformer of all time, Super Mario 64. A breakthrough of a game, which is still regarded as a benchmark today, was the perfect killer app for the N64 this game was so unbelievably good it was, well unbelievable, the graphics and movement were groundbreaking. It too became bundled with the system, which helped make the N64 a success in its own right.
In a last ditch attempt to recover lost profits Sega released the Dreamcast in America in 1999. Sega turned to their loyal mascot Sonic to bring in the crowds, Sonic adventure was a game which was surprisingly faster than its predecessor, however I felt it was so much faster that it often made play a little confusing. It was however well liked, and although Sega is now out of the console wars the Dreamcast was still a relatively successful console.
The successor to the Playstation was the originally titled Playstation 2. Having already secured a major fan-base it wasn’t a question of whether the console was going to be big, but how big? The console launch was poor, but many consoles flew off the shelves through the highly anticipated Gran Turismo 3. A graphical Picasso it was a realistic racing simulation. However it has now been upstaged by Grand Theft Auto 3, which is now the biggest selling game on PS2.
And now, to the consoles in the limelight. Microsoft’s Xbox has perhaps one of the most highly anticipated killer apps seen in a long while. The first person shooter Halo is receiving rave reviews from everywhere that matters, it boasts amazing graphics and highly advanced AI it has already shifted a good few consoles out of the stores.
The Gamecube is a slightly more ambiguous affair, having none of its best franchises at launch is sadly missed, but the show must go on. The highly original and quirky looking Pikmin as well as the super charged Super Smash Bros. Melee are pulling in the crowds quite nicely. As is the amazing-looking rogue leader and the fun and original super monkey ball. However an absence of Mario and Zelda will not go unnoticed.
This concludes my look at killer apps through history.
Thanks for reading. CM :)
Perhaps the most famous killer app in the whole of history is that which appeared on the humble Gameboy released in 1995, an unknown of the videogames industry made the game, his name is Alexey Pajitnov, however he was also helped by Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov. Tetris, like any addictive game was a very simple affair. The idea being to line up falling blocks in such a way as to remove them from play, it was a game so addictive because of its ability to play on our instinct of cleanliness (well for some of us). In the end the game was a massive hit, it ended up being bundled free with the Gameboy which, flew off the shelves and still remains Nintendo’s best selling console.
The Mega Drive is next in my selection of hand picked beauties; first released in Japan in 1989 this was the successor to the Master System. The killer app for this console is in my opinion Sonic the hedgehog; the game was quite frankly blisteringly fast, where early levels could be completed within the space of a minute, provided you knew it with sufficient detail. The game spawned several sequels, and as such became a series on the system.
Nintendo’s Super Nintendo is perhaps one of the best-loved consoles in history, I know I certainly love mine. The killer app on the SNES was of course Super Mario World, this heralded a revolution in 2D platforming action, and still today holds is head up against some of the newest platformers on the market. The game was very well received and helped claw back lost ground against the Mega Drive for Nintendo, the game is being re-released onto the Game Boy Advance in the form of Mario advance 2.
Sega then struck back with the first 32-bit console on the market with the often under-rated Saturn, which in the hands of a good developer was more powerful than the Playstation. There were a few must have games on this console, the first on the hit list is NiGHTS, this was a very original game for its time and is still regarded as a modern masterpiece, its best description is a psychedelic experience. Secondly was the awesome Panzer Dragoon Saga, it was a part RPG, part flight sim, it was a game which many felt should see a sequel, and spawned several online petitions.
Well now it comes to Sony’s turn, the PSX was a runaway success story for its makers. The brainchild of Ken (father of the Playstation) Kutaragi, its first certifiable killer app would be Namco’s Ridge Racer, now I m not into racing games at all, but even I found the game pleasurable, the graphics were good for the time and the tracks very well designed. Furthermore the release of Tekken further attracted attention to the system
The 64-bit hybrid first codenamed Ultra 64 from Nintendo, which later became the Nintendo 64, is home to the most influential platformer of all time, Super Mario 64. A breakthrough of a game, which is still regarded as a benchmark today, was the perfect killer app for the N64 this game was so unbelievably good it was, well unbelievable, the graphics and movement were groundbreaking. It too became bundled with the system, which helped make the N64 a success in its own right.
In a last ditch attempt to recover lost profits Sega released the Dreamcast in America in 1999. Sega turned to their loyal mascot Sonic to bring in the crowds, Sonic adventure was a game which was surprisingly faster than its predecessor, however I felt it was so much faster that it often made play a little confusing. It was however well liked, and although Sega is now out of the console wars the Dreamcast was still a relatively successful console.
The successor to the Playstation was the originally titled Playstation 2. Having already secured a major fan-base it wasn’t a question of whether the console was going to be big, but how big? The console launch was poor, but many consoles flew off the shelves through the highly anticipated Gran Turismo 3. A graphical Picasso it was a realistic racing simulation. However it has now been upstaged by Grand Theft Auto 3, which is now the biggest selling game on PS2.
And now, to the consoles in the limelight. Microsoft’s Xbox has perhaps one of the most highly anticipated killer apps seen in a long while. The first person shooter Halo is receiving rave reviews from everywhere that matters, it boasts amazing graphics and highly advanced AI it has already shifted a good few consoles out of the stores.
The Gamecube is a slightly more ambiguous affair, having none of its best franchises at launch is sadly missed, but the show must go on. The highly original and quirky looking Pikmin as well as the super charged Super Smash Bros. Melee are pulling in the crowds quite nicely. As is the amazing-looking rogue leader and the fun and original super monkey ball. However an absence of Mario and Zelda will not go unnoticed.
This concludes my look at killer apps through history.
Thanks for reading. CM :)
Page:
My memory is pritty poor, but surely Tetris wasnt released in 1995!
Good round up anyway.
My Killer games differ a little bit for each console...that I've owned anyway. On the N64 Goldeneye was the killer app for me. I didnt actually buy Mario 64 until two years after I had purchased my N64!
For the PS2 I have to agree with you that GT3 was the killer app. Got a PS2 as soon as this game was launched. Took quite a while for it to come as well...PS2 had been quite a let-down before GT3.
I'm getting a Gamecube at launch but dont think that there are any killer apps for me at launch. Mario Sunshine will be that game...Hopefully we will get it before the end of the year.
Good round up anyway.
My Killer games differ a little bit for each console...that I've owned anyway. On the N64 Goldeneye was the killer app for me. I didnt actually buy Mario 64 until two years after I had purchased my N64!
For the PS2 I have to agree with you that GT3 was the killer app. Got a PS2 as soon as this game was launched. Took quite a while for it to come as well...PS2 had been quite a let-down before GT3.
I'm getting a Gamecube at launch but dont think that there are any killer apps for me at launch. Mario Sunshine will be that game...Hopefully we will get it before the end of the year.
A killer app is defined in the jargon dictionary as the application that actually makes a sustaining market for a promising but under-utilised technology. However in its most derivative state it can be described as an application (hence the app part) which will make a console (or a PC) a must have purchase, a game so devilishly awesome and compulsive that it feels like you can’t live another day without it. Throughout videogame history developers and console makers have tried to exploit the killer app to shift the maximum amount of consoles from the shelves.
Perhaps the most famous killer app in the whole of history is that which appeared on the humble Gameboy released in 1995, an unknown of the videogames industry made the game, his name is Alexey Pajitnov, however he was also helped by Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov. Tetris, like any addictive game was a very simple affair. The idea being to line up falling blocks in such a way as to remove them from play, it was a game so addictive because of its ability to play on our instinct of cleanliness (well for some of us). In the end the game was a massive hit, it ended up being bundled free with the Gameboy which, flew off the shelves and still remains Nintendo’s best selling console.
The Mega Drive is next in my selection of hand picked beauties; first released in Japan in 1989 this was the successor to the Master System. The killer app for this console is in my opinion Sonic the hedgehog; the game was quite frankly blisteringly fast, where early levels could be completed within the space of a minute, provided you knew it with sufficient detail. The game spawned several sequels, and as such became a series on the system.
Nintendo’s Super Nintendo is perhaps one of the best-loved consoles in history, I know I certainly love mine. The killer app on the SNES was of course Super Mario World, this heralded a revolution in 2D platforming action, and still today holds is head up against some of the newest platformers on the market. The game was very well received and helped claw back lost ground against the Mega Drive for Nintendo, the game is being re-released onto the Game Boy Advance in the form of Mario advance 2.
Sega then struck back with the first 32-bit console on the market with the often under-rated Saturn, which in the hands of a good developer was more powerful than the Playstation. There were a few must have games on this console, the first on the hit list is NiGHTS, this was a very original game for its time and is still regarded as a modern masterpiece, its best description is a psychedelic experience. Secondly was the awesome Panzer Dragoon Saga, it was a part RPG, part flight sim, it was a game which many felt should see a sequel, and spawned several online petitions.
Well now it comes to Sony’s turn, the PSX was a runaway success story for its makers. The brainchild of Ken (father of the Playstation) Kutaragi, its first certifiable killer app would be Namco’s Ridge Racer, now I m not into racing games at all, but even I found the game pleasurable, the graphics were good for the time and the tracks very well designed. Furthermore the release of Tekken further attracted attention to the system
The 64-bit hybrid first codenamed Ultra 64 from Nintendo, which later became the Nintendo 64, is home to the most influential platformer of all time, Super Mario 64. A breakthrough of a game, which is still regarded as a benchmark today, was the perfect killer app for the N64 this game was so unbelievably good it was, well unbelievable, the graphics and movement were groundbreaking. It too became bundled with the system, which helped make the N64 a success in its own right.
In a last ditch attempt to recover lost profits Sega released the Dreamcast in America in 1999. Sega turned to their loyal mascot Sonic to bring in the crowds, Sonic adventure was a game which was surprisingly faster than its predecessor, however I felt it was so much faster that it often made play a little confusing. It was however well liked, and although Sega is now out of the console wars the Dreamcast was still a relatively successful console.
The successor to the Playstation was the originally titled Playstation 2. Having already secured a major fan-base it wasn’t a question of whether the console was going to be big, but how big? The console launch was poor, but many consoles flew off the shelves through the highly anticipated Gran Turismo 3. A graphical Picasso it was a realistic racing simulation. However it has now been upstaged by Grand Theft Auto 3, which is now the biggest selling game on PS2.
And now, to the consoles in the limelight. Microsoft’s Xbox has perhaps one of the most highly anticipated killer apps seen in a long while. The first person shooter Halo is receiving rave reviews from everywhere that matters, it boasts amazing graphics and highly advanced AI it has already shifted a good few consoles out of the stores.
The Gamecube is a slightly more ambiguous affair, having none of its best franchises at launch is sadly missed, but the show must go on. The highly original and quirky looking Pikmin as well as the super charged Super Smash Bros. Melee are pulling in the crowds quite nicely. As is the amazing-looking rogue leader and the fun and original super monkey ball. However an absence of Mario and Zelda will not go unnoticed.
This concludes my look at killer apps through history.
Thanks for reading. CM :)
Perhaps the most famous killer app in the whole of history is that which appeared on the humble Gameboy released in 1995, an unknown of the videogames industry made the game, his name is Alexey Pajitnov, however he was also helped by Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov. Tetris, like any addictive game was a very simple affair. The idea being to line up falling blocks in such a way as to remove them from play, it was a game so addictive because of its ability to play on our instinct of cleanliness (well for some of us). In the end the game was a massive hit, it ended up being bundled free with the Gameboy which, flew off the shelves and still remains Nintendo’s best selling console.
The Mega Drive is next in my selection of hand picked beauties; first released in Japan in 1989 this was the successor to the Master System. The killer app for this console is in my opinion Sonic the hedgehog; the game was quite frankly blisteringly fast, where early levels could be completed within the space of a minute, provided you knew it with sufficient detail. The game spawned several sequels, and as such became a series on the system.
Nintendo’s Super Nintendo is perhaps one of the best-loved consoles in history, I know I certainly love mine. The killer app on the SNES was of course Super Mario World, this heralded a revolution in 2D platforming action, and still today holds is head up against some of the newest platformers on the market. The game was very well received and helped claw back lost ground against the Mega Drive for Nintendo, the game is being re-released onto the Game Boy Advance in the form of Mario advance 2.
Sega then struck back with the first 32-bit console on the market with the often under-rated Saturn, which in the hands of a good developer was more powerful than the Playstation. There were a few must have games on this console, the first on the hit list is NiGHTS, this was a very original game for its time and is still regarded as a modern masterpiece, its best description is a psychedelic experience. Secondly was the awesome Panzer Dragoon Saga, it was a part RPG, part flight sim, it was a game which many felt should see a sequel, and spawned several online petitions.
Well now it comes to Sony’s turn, the PSX was a runaway success story for its makers. The brainchild of Ken (father of the Playstation) Kutaragi, its first certifiable killer app would be Namco’s Ridge Racer, now I m not into racing games at all, but even I found the game pleasurable, the graphics were good for the time and the tracks very well designed. Furthermore the release of Tekken further attracted attention to the system
The 64-bit hybrid first codenamed Ultra 64 from Nintendo, which later became the Nintendo 64, is home to the most influential platformer of all time, Super Mario 64. A breakthrough of a game, which is still regarded as a benchmark today, was the perfect killer app for the N64 this game was so unbelievably good it was, well unbelievable, the graphics and movement were groundbreaking. It too became bundled with the system, which helped make the N64 a success in its own right.
In a last ditch attempt to recover lost profits Sega released the Dreamcast in America in 1999. Sega turned to their loyal mascot Sonic to bring in the crowds, Sonic adventure was a game which was surprisingly faster than its predecessor, however I felt it was so much faster that it often made play a little confusing. It was however well liked, and although Sega is now out of the console wars the Dreamcast was still a relatively successful console.
The successor to the Playstation was the originally titled Playstation 2. Having already secured a major fan-base it wasn’t a question of whether the console was going to be big, but how big? The console launch was poor, but many consoles flew off the shelves through the highly anticipated Gran Turismo 3. A graphical Picasso it was a realistic racing simulation. However it has now been upstaged by Grand Theft Auto 3, which is now the biggest selling game on PS2.
And now, to the consoles in the limelight. Microsoft’s Xbox has perhaps one of the most highly anticipated killer apps seen in a long while. The first person shooter Halo is receiving rave reviews from everywhere that matters, it boasts amazing graphics and highly advanced AI it has already shifted a good few consoles out of the stores.
The Gamecube is a slightly more ambiguous affair, having none of its best franchises at launch is sadly missed, but the show must go on. The highly original and quirky looking Pikmin as well as the super charged Super Smash Bros. Melee are pulling in the crowds quite nicely. As is the amazing-looking rogue leader and the fun and original super monkey ball. However an absence of Mario and Zelda will not go unnoticed.
This concludes my look at killer apps through history.
Thanks for reading. CM :)
Page: