A killer app or system seller is a game that makes a consumer want to purchase a console primarily for that game. It can be because of a significant leap forward in graphics or because a game offers something unique, never seen before, critical acclaim, or appeals to an entirely new audience. Companies try to put out at least one system seller during the launch of a console in order to convince people to purchase it. In the case of PC gaming, a gamer may spend money upgrading computer parts to play the game at high settings.
Exclusives tend to be better system sellers than cross-platform games. Additionally, a sequel on a new console is usually a big system seller (e.g. Halo 3 on Xbox 360). However, a sequel released on the original game's console may not generate higher system sales, because gamers who wanted that type of game will have already purchased the console for the original (e.g. Halo 2 on Xbox).
Typically, a good game will cause some sort of hardware bump, but only a killer game provides a large and sustained system boost. A killer game is nearly always a best seller, but a best selling game is not always a system seller.
Second generation[]
Atari VCS (Atari 2600)
- Space Invaders (1980)
- Pac-Man (1982)
ColecoVision
- Donkey Kong (1982)
Third generation[]
Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom)
- Duck Hunt (1984)
- Xevious (1984)
- Super Mario Bros. (1985)
- The Legend of Zelda (1986)
- Dragon Quest (1986)
Sega Master System (Sega Mark III)
- Hang-On (1985)
- Alex Kidd in Miracle World (1986)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Fourth generation[]
PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16)
- Bikkuriman World (1987)
- Far East of Eden: Ziria (1989)
Sega Mega Drive (Genesis)
- Phantasy Star II (1989)
- John Madden Football (1990)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
- Streets of Rage (1991)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)
Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom)
- Super Mario World (1990)
- Final Fantasy IV (1991)
- Street Fighter II (1992)
- Dragon Quest V (1992)
- Donkey Kong Country (1994)
- Fatal Fury (1991)
- Samurai Shodown (1993)
Sega CD (Mega CD)
- Lunar: The Silver Star (1992)
- Night Trap (1992)
- Sonic CD (1993)
Fifth generation[]
- Virtua Fighter (1994)
- Virtua Fighter 2 (1995)
- Nights into Dreams (1996)
- Sakura Taisen (1996)
- Ridge Racer (1994)
- Battle Arena Toshinden (1995)
- Tekken (1995)
- Resident Evil (1996)
- Final Fantasy VII (1997)
- Super Mario 64 (1996)
- Mario Kart 64 (1996)
- GoldenEye 007 (1997)
- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
Sixth generation[]
- Virtua Fighter 3 (1998)
- Sonic Adventure (1998)
- Soul Calibur (1999)
- Phantasy Star Online (2000)
- Tekken Tag Tournament (2000)
- Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)
- Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001)
- Final Fantasy X (2001)
- Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
- Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)
- Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (2001)
- Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
- Mario Kart: Double Dash! (2003)
- Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)
- Dead or Alive 3 (2001)
- Halo 2 (2004)
- Ninja Gaiden (2004)
Seventh generation[]
- Gears of War (2006)
- Blue Dragon (2006)
- Halo 3 (2008) - 50% increased Xbox 360 sales in the United States
- Gears of War 2 (2008)
- Wii Sports (2006)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)
- Wii Play (2006)
- Wii Fit (2007)
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)
- Killzone 2 (2009)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
- Gran Turismo 5 (2010)
Eighth generation[]
- Mario Kart 8 (2014)
- Splatoon (2015) - In Japan, the title kept the Wii U from abysmal sales. Its sequel has become one of the best.
- Killzone: Shadow Fall (2013)
- Bloodborne (2015)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (2016)
- God of War (2018)
- Ryse: Son of Rome (2013)
- Halo 5 (2015)
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (2017) - As an Xbox console exclusive, it pushed sales of the Xbox One in Winter 2017.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) - Sales of the game actually exceeded the sales of the console itself.
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017)
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)
Handheld[]
- Tetris (1989)
- Super Mario Land (1989)
- Makai Tōshi SaGa / Final Fantasy Legend (1989)
- Dr. Mario (1990)
- Pokémon Red / Green / Blue (1996)
Sega Game Gear
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1991)
- Super Mario 64 DS (2004)
- Nintendogs (2005)
- Brain Training / Brain Age (2005)
- Mario Kart DS (2005)
- New Super Mario Bros. (2006)
PlayStation Portable (PSP)
- Mario Kart 7 (2011)
- Pokémon X / Y (2013) - Drove massive spikes in sales for the 3DS.
- Pokémon Sun & Moon (2016) - Raised 3DS sales to stay steady compared to previous years despite the handheld being old by that point.
PC[]
- Pac-Man (1983)
- Doom (1993)
- StarCraft (1998)
- Half-Life (1998)
- Half-Life 2 (2004)