The past several months have been tremendously kind to Ubisoft. After welcoming a surprise hit with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora back in December, which followed the successful release of Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, and with an nth potential success in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown waiting on the wings, it appears that one of its previous titles is late bloomer as well.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, a third-party Nintendo Switch exclusive title, is apparently closing in on 3 million copies sold – a big win after Ubisoft initially expressed disappointment in its sales in its initial launch back in October 2022.
Sparks of Hope is a sequel to the original crossover title, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which launched in 2017. The surprising collaboration between Nintendo and Ubisoft, saw the usually protective console maker temporarily sign over the keys to the Mario universe to Ubisoft in a fun turn-based tactical adventure title. The two combine to be one of the best-selling third-party Switch titles, but the latest numbers of Sparks of Hope suggest Ubisoft might want to heavily consider working on a third title as well as a potential re-release for the next Nintendo console.
Ubisoft’s long-standing sales strategy might be partly to blame for the relative lack of initial success of the sequel. It’s not unusual for Ubisoft to sell its titles for a massive discount just weeks after it hits the storeshelves. It has happened so often that many prefer to wait weeks to buy the game on a discount even if it’s good. This is troublesome for games like Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, which, Ubisoft has admitted that it basically forced to release on the Nintendo Switch, hoping that the success of the original game would carry over.
Previously, Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot, suggested that Nintendo advised the company to wait for its next console to release Sparks of Hope. If nothing else, this implies that Nintendo trusts Ubisoft enough to make Sparks of Hope, potentially, a launch title for its still-unrevealed ninth-generation console.
Despite these early concerns, the game’s sales have been steadily growing. Furthermore, Ubisoft Milan, the developers of the Mario + Rabbids series, remains optimistic about the game’s long-term sales potential. Cristina Nava, the series’ producer at Ubisoft Milan, expressed confidence that Sparks of Hope, like its predecessor, would continue to attract players over time.
This positive trend in sales is seen as encouraging news for fans of the series and for Ubisoft, as it may increase the likelihood of a third Mario + Rabbids installment. The sequel’s eventual success, despite initial setbacks, highlights the game’s quality and the enduring appeal of the Mario and Rabbids franchises.
Nintendo remains frustratingly silent about its upcoming console, with many believing that the Japanese tech giant is willing to wait until 2025 to release it.
