The Sales Comeback of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope: A Story of Resilience and Redemption

The Disappointing Launch and the Remarkable Comeback

A recent Ubisoft game is reportedly mounting a sales comeback following what the company itself described as a disappointing launch. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is 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 itself admitted that Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope had a disappointing launch.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope eShop beach promo screenshot upscaled with game logo

The original Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was 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 while Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope debuted to comparably glowing reviews in 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 Hope has still managed to generate almost 3 million sales to date, VGC reports, 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 Battle amassed over 10 million sales over the past six and a half years.

Ubisoft's Pricing Strategy and Sales Resilience

VGC's sources also claim that this apparent sales comeback was at least partially fueled by a slew of discounts that Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope received 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.

Nevertheless, Ubisoft's decision to label Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope as 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 when Kingdom Battle hit the market in August 2017. It hence stands to reason that the publisher was possibly expecting Sparks of Hope to 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 2 with Sparks of Hope, which is what Nintendo itself suggested.

Hope for the Future and the Series' Fandom

That notwithstanding, this newly emerged report does indicate that the Kingdom Battle sequel 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 that a third Mario + Rabbids game is still on the cards.