Killer game

A killer game is a video game which is so popular that many buy a particular video game console or upgrade their computer hardware simply to play such a game. A killer game is one type of killer app.

Importance

To a video game console manufacturer, having such a game available for its platform is critical to a platform's market success. The failure of home video game systems such as the 3DO, and the Atari Jaguar, as well as handhelds like the Atari Lynx and the Game.com can be attributed to the fact that no killer game emerged for those systems.

Examples

• For owners and operators of arcades, nearly every game must be a killer, because each game is sold with its own hardware. In the early days of video arcades, games such as Pong, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Ms. Pac-Man could be found in every arcade.

• For the Atari 2600, Space Invaders and Pitfall! were very popular games and caused an increase in sales.

• The Nintendo Entertainment System had Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Bros. 3 as games which drove system sales.

• The original Game Boy boasted of Tetris and later, Pokémon.

• The Sega Genesis was made quite popular by the Sonic the Hedgehog series and Mortal Kombat.

• For the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Mario World and Street Fighter II could be considered killer games.

• The 7th Guest was instrumental in making CD-ROM drives standard equipment in PCs.

• For the N64, Perfect Dark, Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, and particularly The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time could be considered killer games.

• The PlayStation had Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, and the Crash Bandicoot series; however, these games did not individually have as big an impact on console sales as killer games for other systems.

• Killer games on the PlayStation 2 include Metal Gear Solid 2, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy X and the Grand Theft Auto series.

• The Nintendo GameCube has Super Smash Bros: Melee., The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Metroid Prime as killer games.

• The game Halo contributed greatly to Microsoft Xbox console sales.