KillerApp
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iPad killer apps: The TUAW consensus
Killer apps define a platform. They spark the insight as to why a particular device is right for you, allowing you to make the connection between its purchase and how it will work in your life. Here at TUAW, we decided to brainstorm through the iPad apps that we've used, and to focus in on what we consider to be the iPad's killer items. These are items that really bring the iPad to life, highlighting it as a device and showcasing its features beyond what you could normally get on an iPhone, iPod touch, or even on a competitively priced netbook. Here are our choices for those special stand-out apps.
SCEA admits PSP needs a few killer apps to motor sales
In the tell-us-something-we-don't-already-know department, SCEA's chief financial officer Robert Wiesenthal admitted software potential has been lackluster, and is considered to be slowing PSP hardware sales. "Clearly on the software side, any real killer title will galvanize the sales," he said. This mirrors similar thoughts from Hiroshi Kamide, director of the research department at KBC Securities Japan, who believes the PSP hardware is stellar while the compelling reason to own one is not. "Most of the software is knock-offs of PlayStation 2 titles and that won't do Sony any favours," he says. We tend to agree, which could explain why some of us are so smitten with the refreshing game play in one of the PSP's newest releases, Crush.Compelling reasons to own a PSP are definitely coming. For those that haven't yet seen our coverage of the recent Sony Gamers Day (SGD '07), we implore you to take a peek behind the curtain of planned content. This summer should prove even more rewarding for RPG fanatics with the Final Fantasy I and II remakes, Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics, Jeanne d'Arc and much more. It would seem developers have been already working on a solution to a problem Sony is, just now, admitting to. Better late than never, we suppose. So lets get that ball of content rolling!
Mercury News: PS3? Wait and see
Dean Takahashi compares the three-console showdown beginning this week. His overview is mostly recap for us: the Wii is for new -- and unproven -- family gameplay, and the Xbox 360 is for hardcore gamers. The PS3? It's for techies who need the glossiest gadgets.He doesn't find much reason to pick a PS3 over the 360, other than being the cool kid on your block. But he also mentions that his opinion could be swayed if unique games come out for the new system.Do killer apps drive console sales? We can't think of a standout that would justify buying the hardware for any of the three consoles -- maybe Gears of War. Maybe that's why we have mixed feelings about the two launches. But we expect next year's game releases to warm us up to the new hardware.
Beleaguered Sony looks toward "PSP business expansion"
The internet is filled with comments about how the PSP has yet to receive a real "killer app," a AAA title that causes the masses to go out and buy it. While the PSP has more high-rated games than the DS, it doesn't have a title like Mario Kart Nintendogs, or Brain Age that gets mass market attention. And Sony acknowledges that: "Clearly on the software side, any real killer will galvanize the sales. There have been a number of titles that have been terrific, but not the one title that defines the product," SCEA CFO Robert Wiesenthal told financial advisors on Thursday in a conference call. "We are preparing the wiser use of the PSP for the future... We are always looking at the PSP business expansion," Takao Yuhara, Sony's head of investor relations, said during the same conference call.With sales for the PSP slowing down so early on in the system's life, it's becoming more evident that Sony will launch a redesigned PSP. "Of course there's going to be a re-design before next summer, more than likely before GDC (Game Developers Conference). I'd put money on it. Only no one, especially not people at Sony, are going to confirm this, because of the potential damage it could inflict on PSP sales in the run up to Christmas," an anonymous PSP publisher told SPOnG.[Via ITworld]
