A project’s failure to meet internal and public expectations has a way of making you feel introspective. Case in point, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.
In October of last year, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope was released to high critical acclaim. But, it didn’t sell, surprising Ubisoft over its underperformance, especially in the final weeks of last year and earlier this year. But, while that’s unfortunate, this wasn’t the highlight of the latest statement from Ubisoft’s CEO.
Apparently, Yves Guillemot claims that Nintendo had advised them against releasing a Mario + Rabbids game on the same console as the original and that they should’ve waited for the next one.
Guillemot candidly acknowledged its mistakes in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, revealing that the company didn’t listen to Nintendo about potentially delaying the game’s launch until the release of Nintendo’s next console.
Guillemot suggested that the disappointing commercial performance might have resulted from the decision to release the sequel on the same platform as the original.
“We had already released a Mario Rabbids game [on Switch], so by doing another we had two similar experiences on one machine,” he explained. Adding to this, Guillemot said, “Nintendo [has advised] that it’s better to do one iteration on each machine. We were a bit too early, we should have waited for [the next console].” This advice from Nintendo is notable and important given the enduring popularity of its games. Guillemot pointed out that “On Nintendo, games like this never die. There are 25 Mario games on Switch.”
Nintendo’s current CEO, Shuntaro Furukawa, has previously stated that we shouldn’t expect any hardware before next April, but after that? All bets are off.
Naturally, Guillemot’s comments have reignited rumors about a new Nintendo console, which some fans hope might be announced during the upcoming Nintendo Direct scheduled for Wednesday, June 21.
Despite the challenges, Guillemot remains optimistic about the future of the game. “Because you could play a great game. And we think it will last for ten years, because we will update it for the new machine that will come in the future,” he stated. Ubisoft’s willingness to adapt and learn from this experience is a testament to the company’s commitment to its fans and the quality of its games.
All told, Ubisoft seems to be in a learning mood in recent years.
After going all-in on using the same formula repeatedly for all its games, Ubisoft has now decided to break the mold. It has also since dropped its NFT plans, opting instead to double down on its best-selling games. At the moment, far more people are working on Assassin’s Creed than ever before, headlined by the amazing team behind Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, which is coming out on October 21. The hope is that Ubisoft’s decision to blend nostalgia with modern niceties will help bring a lot of its fans into the fold while paving the way for the future of Assassin’s Creed. On top of this, a new Prince of Persia game is currently in development while Skull & Bones is scheduled for another closed beta soon. Finally, multiple Far Cry games might be in development.
Between all of the confirmed in-development projects and other Assassin’s Creed ventures such as Assassin’s Creed Infinity, Codename Red, and Codename Jade, Ubisoft’s bottom line will likely recover sooner rather than later.
Still, we’d have to thank Guillemot for this renewed hope that a new Nintendo console is coming out within the next year or two.
