A launch title is a video game that has been made available to consumers synchronously with its respective video game console, meaning they are the only available games at the time of the console's launch. Several of these titles are also typically selected to be packaged with the console. Because launch titles provide first impressions of the console's features and technical abilities, they are extremely important in the video game industry, and many launch titles have been killer apps.

Quality vs. quantity

Historically, the number of launch titles has been an important factor in deciding the success of a gaming platform. The more games available at launch, the higher the chances that players will find something that interests them. However, the same importance applies to game quality: poor quality games don't sell as well in the long term as high quality ones.

When gearing up for a major console launch, developers and publishers have a decision to make. They can release a large number of launch titles, often accompanied by the promise of more soon after launch, or they can release a few extremely strong titles, or a killer game. Whilst releasing a large number of extremely strong titles is of course preferred, this may not be practical. To balance these choices, developers will often supplement one or two strong titles with third-party or licensed titles to bolster the number of launch titles.

Launch titles

main: List of video game console launch titles Here are a few popular games that debuted at launch.

• Nintendo Entertainment System (1985) - Duck Hunt and Gyromite
• Nintendo Entertainment System (1986 U.S. re-launch) - Super Mario Bros.
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1990) - Super Mario World and F-Zero
• PlayStation (1994) - Ridge Racer
• Sega Saturn (1995) - Panzer Dragoon
• Nintendo 64 (1996) - Super Mario 64, and Pilot Wings 64''
• Dreamcast (1999) - Sonic Adventure and Soul Calibur
• PlayStation 2 (2000) - SSX and Tekken Tag Tournament
• Xbox (2001) Halo: Combat Evolved and Project Gotham Racing
• Nintendo GameCube (2001) - Luigi's Mansion and Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
• Xbox 360 (2005) - Perfect Dark Zero, Call Of Duty 2 and Project Gotham Racing 3
• Wii (2006) - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wii Sports
• PlayStation 3 (2006) - Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm (Europe)