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[Draugoth]

A year after being branded a flop, Ubisoft’s Mario + Rabbids sequel, Sparks of Hope, has racked up nearly three million sales, VGC understands.

The sales momentum, which sources said was partly helped by discounting on the Nintendo eShop, means Sparks of Hope is performing roughly in line with the historical performance of the first game, which went on to reach 10 million players.

It’s worth noting that Ubisoft would likely have expected the sequel to have performed even better, given Switch’s significant growth since the original game was released in August 2017, and the significant install base of the original game.

Regardless, it changes the mood somewhat around a title that just a year ago was being branded a flop by the publisher.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

It's being going very frequently on sale on both the eShop and at retail so 3M doesn't mean that much frankly if the average price per copy sold is low.

 

[Kadve]

It's being going very frequently on sale on both the eShop and at retail so 3M doesn't mean that much frankly if the average price per copy sold is low.

Also know some people bought it just for the Rayman DLC.

 

[Mephisto40]

When you consider the player base of the switch, 3 million is quiet a small number for a game featuring their lead character

The amount of money they spent marketing the game i'd be surprised if they even broke even on it

 

[StereoVsn]

It's being going very frequently on sale on both the eShop and at retail so 3M doesn't mean that much frankly if the average price per copy sold is low.

As long as it’s meeting Ubi expectations for an AA title it should be ok, I would think.

First game also released when there weren’t a lot of games like this on the Switch.

 

[Generic]

I guess less than 5 millions = flop

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

As long as it’s meeting Ubi expectations for an AA title it should be ok, I would think.

First game also released when there weren’t a lot of games like this on the Switch.

Let's hope so since I'm rather fond of this series (have both games on Switch).

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Yeah but how many of those last 2 million were like, not even half price. Given how well the first one did as a launch window title, it’s for sure a bit of a flop

 

[Ozriel]

Physical copies were down to $15 way back in Holiday 2022.

I know because I bought 3 as gifts

 

[Alexios]

As long as it’s meeting Ubi expectations for an AA title it should be ok, I would think.

First game also released when there weren’t a lot of games like this on the Switch.

Switch has a ton of XCOMy games like it now? That's pretty rad, how much did they sell/are they multiplatform?

 

[mcjmetroid]

This game was such a massive disappointment to me compared to the original which I absolutely loved.

It looks worse due to the change in perspective
It has no multiplayer or co-cop
The single player "story mode" was even worse than the original one and tried too hard

To me it focused completely on the wrong stuff for a sequel.

I guess a lot of people liked this game but I've never met anyone in person that did, reviewers creamed over it though. It's not bad but a bad sequel in my opinion and I'm not surprised it didn't sell as expected.

 

[StereoVsn]

Switch has a ton of XCOMy games like it now? That's pretty rad, how much did they sell/are they multiplatform?

Well, less so XCOM but a ton SRPGs basically from Tactics Ogre Remake to Fire Emblem (two of them even) to Triangle Strategy and so on.

 

[ReBurn]

It's being going very frequently on sale on both the eShop and at retail so 3M doesn't mean that much frankly if the average price per copy sold is low.

There are games that get hyped up for their massive unit sales that have long since dropped to $20 MSRP and are regularly on sale for between $8 and $10. We barely ever talk about that in relationship to sales of those games so it feels weird to bring it up in relationship to sales of this one.

 

[darrylgorn]

It's a total flop.. for the Switch!
(I think I did that right)

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

There are games that get hyped up for their massive unit sales that have long since dropped to $20 MSRP and are regularly on sale for between $8 and $10. We barely ever talk about that in relationship to sales of those games so it feels weird to bring it up in relationship to sales of this one.

It's not weird at all, but okay.

 

[Ceadeus]

These numbers are this high maybe because Ubisoft drop their price really fast and aggressively, so people impulse buy their stuff to play an hour before dropping the game.

 

[Woopah]

Well, less so XCOM but a ton SRPGs basically from Tactics Ogre Remake to Fire Emblem (two of them even) to Triangle Strategy and so on.

There's also a lot more competition for Mario games now than there was in Sunmer 2017.

 

[Shifty1897]

A game that uses the Mario IP on Switch selling only 3 million copies is a flop.

I'll tell you what killed this game. Everyone saw how low the first game got on sale. It was like $13.59 at one point. So when this one went on sale for $60, everyone just waited for that price to drop. It'll sell a lot of copies at $20.

 

[yurinka]

When you consider the player base of the switch, 3 million is quiet a small number for a game featuring their lead character

The amount of money they spent marketing the game i'd be surprised if they even broke even on it

Considering that 99.99% of the Switch games don't sell 3M it's a good performance, specially considering it will continue selling more during years.

 

[ReyBrujo]

It's being going very frequently on sale on both the eShop and at retail so 3M doesn't mean that much frankly if the average price per copy sold is low.

I guess that's digital? The game is way cheaper in other countries, in Argentina it's about 3 bucks when in discount, about 7 bucks otherwise. Maybe that's what is helping somewhat.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

I guess that's digital? The game is way cheaper in other countries, in Argentina it's about 3 bucks when in discount, about 7 bucks otherwise. Maybe that's what is helping somewhat.

Yeah, it's just digital. The physical version has been regularly on deeper discount than that at most European retailers. I think I grabbed my copy for €20 back in April of last year.

 

[Hudo]

This game was such a massive disappointment to me compared to the original which I absolutely loved.

It looks worse due to the change in perspective
It has no multiplayer or co-cop
The single player "story mode" was even worse than the original one and tried too hard

To me it focused completely on the wrong stuff for a sequel.

I guess a lot of people liked this game but I've never met anyone in person that did, reviewers creamed over it though. It's not bad but a bad sequel in my opinion and I'm not surprised it didn't sell as expected.

I agree. However: It had a Rayman DLC. Which is like the only fucking acknowledgement of Rayman's existence by Ubisoft that we'll ever get, probably.

Those fuckers even made fun of that fact in the DLC.
I want a Rayman 4, godamnit.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

I mean, Ubisoft want people to get used to not owning their games, so this sounds like a good result.

 

[MaxwellParrish]

As long as it’s meeting Ubi expectations for an AA title it should be ok, I would think.

First game also released when there weren’t a lot of games like this on the Switch.

I mean, Ubisoft declared it a "flop", so...and I'm not sure that it qualifies as a AA title, with the marketing budget and the use of Mario, that certainly costed quite a bit to Ubi either in advance or as a percentage of the sales When the first game was published there weren't a lot of games on the Switch, full stop. But also, there weren't a lot of Switch, given that it was like 4 months that the console was on the market. The fact that the sequel needed serious discount to perform "roughly in line" with an userbase that have grown of 70 + millions cannot certainly be seen as a succcess

 

[Dacvak]

Fuck me, I forgot I bought this game. I still haven’t even booted it up. I played the demo and liked it, but then just never started the real game. I still haven’t beaten the first one, but that’s mainly because I’m just too stupid to get past the last handful of levels.

 

[struggler_guts]

A game that uses the Mario IP on Switch selling only 3 million copies is a flop.

I'll tell you what killed this game. Everyone saw how low the first game got on sale. It was like $13.59 at one point. So when this one went on sale for $60, everyone just waited for that price to drop. It'll sell a lot of copies at $20.

That and those stupid fucking rabbits.

I got a decent way into the first one and loved the gameplay but those disgusting sacks of shit...

 

[bender]

It's being going very frequently on sale on both the eShop and at retail so 3M doesn't mean that much frankly if the average price per copy sold is low.

Sounds like every Ubisoft title I can remember. I'm a little surprised that Nintendo allows these huge discounts.