Summary
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopeis close to hitting 3 million in lifetime sales, sources claim. This turn of events suggests that the Nintendo Switch exclusive is mounting quite a sales comeback after Ubisoft itselfadmitted thatMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopehad a disappointing launch.
The originalMario + Rabbids Kingdom Battlewas met with widespread critical acclaim and fan affection, and is still widely touted as one of the best third-party Switch exclusives nearly seven years following its release. And whileMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopedebuted to comparably glowing reviewsin October 2022, it failed to replicate its predecessor’s launch sales momentum, as per Ubisoft’s own disclosures.
Sparks of Hope’s Launch Year Sales Are Reportedly on Par with Kingdom Battle
Be that as it may,Sparks of Hopehas still managed to generate almost 3 million sales to date,VGCreports, citing sources familiar with the matter. That lifetime sales tally places it roughly in the ballpark of the original game’s launch year performance. For added context,Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battleamassed over 10 million sales over the past six and a half years.
VGC’s sources also claim that this apparent sales comeback was at least partially fueled by a slew of discounts thatMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopereceived in recent times. On that note, it bears pointing out that deep discounts are standard practice for Ubisoft; the company has long been a proponent of the so-called Dutch auction approach when devising its pricing strategy, launching games at full prices before treating them to deep price cuts shortly thereafter in an effort to generate sales across as many consumer demographics as possible, irrespective of their purchase power.
Sparks of Hope Is Still Doing Worse Than Kingdom Battle Relative to the Switch Installed Base
Nevertheless, Ubisoft’s decision to labelMario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopeas a flop at launch could ostensibly be explained by the fact that the game released at a time when the Switch had an installed base of 115 million units, more than ten times what it did back whenKingdom Battlehit the market in August 2017. It hence stands to reason that the publisher was possibly expectingSparks of Hopeto perform better at launch than its predecessor did. When that didn’t come to pass,Ubisoft even said it made a mistake not waiting for the Switch 2withSparks of Hope, which is what Nintendo itself suggested.
That notwithstanding, this newly emerged report does indicate that theKingdom Battlesequel remains on course to amass enviable long-term sales, in spite of its underwhelming launch. This turn of events is bound to inspire hope among the series' fandom thata thirdMario + Rabbidsgameis still on the cards.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
WHERE TO PLAY
Team up with Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Rabbid Peach, Rabbid Luigi, and their friends on a galactic journey to defeat a malevolent entity and save your Spark companions. Explore planets throughout the galaxy as you uncover mysterious secrets and compelling quests!
