Killer Apps per system

[klausien]

All of this XBox 360 hype has made me reminisce a bit about what were the first "killer apps" for all of the systems. Even unsuccessful systems have them. Some of my picks:

Atari - Truly not knowledgeable enough to make a real judgment. I would personally say Combat. Great pack-in. Pitfall and Asteroids did it for me too. Woulda/coulda/shoulda been Pac Man.

Colecovision - Donkey Kong.

Intellivision - ??????

NES - Super Mario Bros. Is there any question? It only outpaces Zelda due to its earlier release.

SMS - Tough call. I want to say Phantasy Star, but Space Harrier really blew my mind at the time.

Gameboy - Tetris. Still my favorite version.

Atari Lynx - Probably Blue Lightning.

Genesis - I think the initial arcade based linup rocked, but the answer is Sonic the Hedgehog. Made them a true competitor.

Sega CD - Sonic CD and Lunar. Final Fight CD was underappreciated at the time, as was Silpheed.

TurboGrafx - Best early game is probably Legendary Axe. All of them are sleepers though for different reasons. Hell, China Warrior was cool then, and I still dig Keith Courage.

TurboGrafx CD - Would have been Drac X, but Ys I & II was the first CD game to generate real buzz.

SNES - Super Mario World. Runner Up: F-Zero/Pilotwings. Rarely have three launch titles been so mindblowing.

Game Gear - Probably Columns.

32X - Virtua Racing Deluxe was the only reason to buy the 32X unless you liked being disappointed with Star Wars Arcade.

Sony PSX - Ridge Racer hands down. Still amazing.

Sega Saturn - Virtua Fighter 2/Sega Rally. Made up for the disasters that were VF and Daytona, unfortunately the damage was already done.

N64 - Super Mario 64. Had to have it. Zelda came too far down the road, though the buzz certainly sold systems.

Dreamcast - Soul Calibur.

GBC - Hmmm...

GBA - I would go with F-Zero again. Castlevania got killed by invisibility and SMB Advance was just SMB2 in nicer clothes. There wasn't too much that really justified the jump at the time outside of backwards compatibility and a larger screen. I am including the SP with this.

PS2 - Didn't get a true killer app until MGS2 and GT3 came out.

XBox - Halo.

GameCube - Uhhh... oh yeah, Metroid Prime.

DS - Super Mario 64 most likely wins again, but not in terms of being an true application of the the technology. You could go with Feel the Magic, but Trauma Center: Under the Knife is truly the best use of the touch screen/dual screen setup so far. Too bad no one knows.

PSP - Lumines. Ridge Racer is awesome too.

XBox 360 - Not yet.

I know I am missing systems, but you get the idea.

[Kid Ice]

We did lists like this the first year DP went to E3 but I can't find the thread. The idea was to name the "definitive" game for each system to be showcased. I don't remember what the final outcome was. My list was pretty similar to yours.

[kirin jensen]

Yeah, Atari would have a 'killer app' if they hadn't royally screwed up Pac-Man.

That's why they had to sue Magnavox over their killer app, KC Munchkin.

If they hadn't, Odyssey2 would have been a serious contender to the 2600 - and not just number 3 out of 6.

[Damon Plus]

DC had three killer-apps at launch: Soul Calibur, NFL2K and Sonic Adventure. Even if people think they haven´t aged well (that goes for SA), those were the games people bought Dreamcasts for.

[drewbrim]

Pretty good list. Although I think Bonk's Adventure would have to get the nod for the Turbografx "killer app"

[Ed Oscuro]

Great list.

I didn't play it for any length of time, but I first saw Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA) under flourescent lights, looked just fine.

[Lothars]

I have to say Great List
but

I've heard Super Mario 64 DS is awesome but I would have to throw in that you could say that Mario Kart DS or Animal Crossing for Killer Apps as well for the DS

[evildead2099]

32X's killer app was DOOM. People cared less about Virtua Racing Deluxe than DOOM since they could already play a great port of Virtua Racing on their Genesis without the need to upgrade. DOOM was new, exciting, and served as the 32X's Killer app since many gamers (myself included) could not afford personal computers to try DOOM out at the time when it was generating so much hype. Prior to the 32X, there was no affordable way for people who didn't already own computers to play DOOM.

Sonic was a very successful killer app for the Genesis, but before Sega's mascot came along, I'd say that Michael Jackson's Moonwalker was the Genesis' killer app.

[evildead2099]

Sega Saturn - Virtua Fighter 2/Sega Rally. Made up for the disasters that were VF and Daytona, unfortunately the damage was already done.

How was Virtua Figher 1 a disappointment? Anyway, I consider that game and Daytona to be the Saturn's original killer apps.

PS2 - Didn't get a true killer app until MGS2 and GT3 came out.

Perhaps. I think that Madden 2001 ( ) and SSX could be considered killer apps in the sense that they stood apart from the crappy games which comprised the PS2's first generation of software (Not like the lack of quality titles stopped people from buying the system anyway).

[ubikuberalles]

Tempest 2000 for the Jaguar.
Star Raiders for the Atari 400/800 (at least that was a big reason I bought the system).

[Ed Oscuro]

I have to say Great List
but

I've heard Super Mario 64 DS is awesome but I would have to throw in that you could say that Mario Kart DS or Animal Crossing for Killer Apps as well for the DS

Not Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, or (gasp) Nintendogs? Well, Mario Kart DS seems to be the killer at the moment, and Animal Crossing doesn't seem far behind.

[Jorpho]

32X's killer app was DOOM. People cared less about Virtua Racing Deluxe than DOOM since they could already play a great port of Virtua Racing on their Genesis without the need to upgrade. DOOM was new, exciting, and served as the 32X's Killer app since many gamers (myself included) could not afford personal computers to try DOOM out at the time when it was generating so much hype. Prior to the 32X, there was no affordable way for people who didn't already own computers to play DOOM.

Was the SNES port that far behind?

[evildead2099]

32X's killer app was DOOM. People cared less about Virtua Racing Deluxe than DOOM since they could already play a great port of Virtua Racing on their Genesis without the need to upgrade. DOOM was new, exciting, and served as the 32X's Killer app since many gamers (myself included) could not afford personal computers to try DOOM out at the time when it was generating so much hype. Prior to the 32X, there was no affordable way for people who didn't already own computers to play DOOM.

Was the SNES port that far behind?

The Sega 32X port of DOOM hit in 1994, when DOOM was still the hottest game in town.

The SNES port of DOOM did not hit until 1996; by that time, QUAKE had already taken DOOM's throne as the king of first person shooters and killer 3D technology.

[diskoboy]

Good god, the 2600 had several potential killer-apps.

-Space Invaders
-Asteroids (the reason why most of my friends wanted a VCS)
-Pac-Man (the reason I wanted a VCS - big mistake, of course)
-Yar's Revenge
-Defender
-Berzerk (IMO, Atari's best arcade translation)
Pitfall 1 and 2 (I liked 2, better)
and Pole Position

I think Pitfall or Space Invaders were the systems killer apps, though. SI sold the 2600, Pitfall was the game everyone had (besides Combat and Pac-Man) and loved.

[evildead2099]

Good god, the 2600 had several potential killer-apps.

Yeah, plus, there were all those porno games by Mistique!

[Ed Oscuro]

Halo was the Xbox's original "killer app," but at the time it launched DoA 3 was the other game to get. Hard to judge since it was a whole different genre.

Right now I'd say the Xbox's killer app is Ninja Gaiden, no question.

[evildead2099]

I'd have to agree with you re: Ninja Gaiden for Xbox.

Shenmue was SUPPOSED to have been one of the Saturn's many killer apps. As groundbreaking and respectable as that effort may be, it is doubtful that it would've succeeded as a killer app for the saturn (See my 'Killer Apps that could've saved various systems' thread).

[sabre2922]

In defense of the Saturn version of the original Dayeeetona! it was a great game and perfect in everyway - except for the lackluster graphics- it had perfect control/gameplay fun music and had that great Sega arcade "feel" that Sega Rally on Saturn contained also fortunately Sega Rally looked great on the 3-D challenged Saturn far better than Daytona and IMO the Sega Rally Saturn version is the best home console rally racer ever and hopefully if the new Sega Rally PS2 version makes its way over here to the U.S. it will contain the original Sega Rally '95 also.

Daytona U.S.A. on Saturn was actually developed by the orginal AM2 team that made the incredible arcade original unlike the fucked up CE edition that screwed up the controls but improved the graphics- give me great control over slightly upgraded graphics anyday

[LiquidPolicenaut]

Not a bad list, but you'd definitely have to add two more classic Sega CD games: Lunar: EB and Snatcher. I agree with Final Fight by the way. It's still great today. For under appreciated titles, I would add Urusei Yatsura and 3x3 Eyes. Ok, I KNOW they are imports...but they are DAMN good imports

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[diskoboy]

And I forgot, The Odyssey 2 had either -

KC Munchkin, Killer Bees, Pick Axe Pete, Attack..Timelord, and Turtles.

And my vote for the Intellivisions killer app would be BurgerTime or Bump N Jump.