Dream Tropes Wiki/Killer App

Template:TropeShort for "**killer application**", a **killer app** is a game - or something not a game that's a category killer - so good that it's considered a must-own if you have the system it's released for, and is in fact a reason in and of itself to buy said system.

When you buy literature, you get a single self-contained experience: the book contains all there is to this particular adventure. When you buy a ticket for a film or a stage show, you get two hours of drama, and that's all there is to see (until the inevitable sequel, that is). But electronic hardware isn't like that. Music players, movie players, computers, video game consoles, tablet computers... They all require software to run, and each piece of software delivers a different experience: a photo-editing suite can't be used to balance your checkbook, for instance, or vice versa. As such, hardware and software are separate yet interlinked categories, and one is used to judge the other: the same piece of software might run much more efficiently on one computer than another, and you'd factor that in when deciding what hardware or software to buy. And, just to add to the confusion, a fair amount of software is *exclusive to one piece of hardware*, or family of hardware: for instance, Microsoft for the longest time resisted releasing its "Office" suite of productivity software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc) for iPad, to keep their competing "Surface" tablets relevant.

And that's where we get to this trope. A "killer app" is a piece of software that validates the hardware. It provides such an excellent user experience that it justifies buying the hardware.

The term is primarily used within the world of video gaming, but originated outside it: it was used, especially during the '90s Internet boom, to describe the mythical invention that everyone in America needed and which would make its developers — and their investors — rich beyond their wildest dreams.

The term can also be used on a more serious context, used to refer to a very useful application which immediately becomes a "must-have", which is, in fact, the original meaning if the term. It's first been applied in 1979, when a first spreadsheet application, VisiCalc, was released for Apple ][, and became a must-have virtually immediately, spawning hordes of clones and imitations on numerous platforms.

And, indeed, when the term is applied in this manner, only a very few applications apply, including word processors, spreadsheets, database management programs, email clients, and web browsers. The only thing everyone agrees on is that any new hardware attempting to launch itself should have a Killer App at hand, especially if the hardware itself is a video game console—that business is more software-driven than any other.

While most products that attain killer app status are extremely successful and popular, it should be noted here that "creating a true killer app" is akin to "writing the Great American Novel": everybody wants to, but nobody has yet created (or is likely to create) the definitive killer app.

Note that a killer app is more than just a good game. A game can be good, great, critically acclaimed, even an all-time classic... and still not be this (conversely, not all killer apps are great by modern standards; some of them seem quite dated today). A killer app is insanely popular in its own time, enough so as to single-handedly drive sales for its system. The examples that follow, then, are not just the games that tropers loved, but rather the games that everyone loved; the ones that made their respective systems.

Arguing over which killer app provides the most bang for its buck is a large part of the Console Wars. If an anticipated game shares the same genre as an existing Killer App, it may be called a [Insert Game Here] Killer, however this often puts unrealistic expectations on the upcoming title.

Compare Star-Making Role (equivalent for actors) and Breakthrough Hit (equivalent for creators).

## Examples

### Drillimation

* The original *Mr. Driller* arcade game was so popular, which was one of the main reasons why players needed to own a Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES/Famicom port nearly resembled the arcade version, as it was actually ported by Nintendo.
* Same thing goes for *Touhou 6: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil* when that game came out on the Super Nintendo. The SNES had a blast in sales thanks to this game (and its sequel *Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom*). Like *Mr. Driller*, that game was ported by Nintendo to the SNES.
* *Driller Engine Grand Prix 2x2* broke numerous sales records when its home console version was released. The GameCube version sold the most copies which was one of the main reasons why players needed to own one.

### Theorysonic

* The port of *Street Fighter II: The World Warrior* was the killer app for the Theorysonic Codear.

### Other

* *Cheers* was the killer app for Banushen Television in El Kadsre.
	+ During the late 1990s, *Sabrina, the Teenage Witch* was one of the network's most popular programs in El Kadsre.
* In El Kadsre, *Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat* was the killer app for ETVKK.
* While the Ryau the Jellyfish Devarim games were the killer ***apps*** for the Devarim, Ryau the Jellyfish 2 had taken the cake for the real Devarim Killer app.
* In Schelipoerys, Cookie Run: The Series was killer app for EBS
* Hyper Amy Sisters games are normally bestsellers for Zerona devices.