Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope hasn’t worked out as well for Ubisoft as the company would have expected after the success of its predecessor. Where Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle pulled in over 10 million players in its lifetime, Sparks of Hope hasn’t gained nearly as much traction. Shortly after its release, Ubisoft confirmed that it had performed below expectations, and more recently, suggested that it would likely have sold better if it had released for Nintendo’s next platform instead of for the Switch.
However, the turn-based tactics title’s development at Ubisoft Milan doesn’t seem too worried about how the game has performed since its launch last October. In a recent interview with VGC, series producer Cristina Nava said that being a turn-based tactics game, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is likely to see a “slow burn” of increased sales over time, and that even though it’s got off to a slow start, the developer remains “coinfident” that its numbers will increase “over a number of years.”
“The first Mario + Rabbids had more than 10 million players,” Nava said. “Even though it’s Mario, it’s also a genre game: turn-based tactical adventure. So we cannot expect to sell high numbers at the very beginning, because a game like that is a slow burner.
“Even if at the beginning it seemed like Sparks of Hope didn’t meet expectations, we are confident that over a number of years it will grow. Because it’s been received, by both the press and the public, very, very well. It’s just a matter of giving it time, with word of mouth etc.”
Nava went on to add that reception for Sparks of Hope has been positive from critics and audiences alike, and that, in addition to the game being much more accessible than its predecessor with the introduction of real-time mechanics, has helped word of mouth grow.
“It’s more accessible than the first game, because we introduced real-time combat, so for less experienced players we take them by the hand and guide them,” she said. “So I am sure, and have already witnessed that, the word of mouth will grow. We’re not worried on our side, because we know that we achieved what we wanted with this sequel. On our side, we’re not worried and we’re satisfied with what we did.”
Of course, it remains to be seen whether Ubisoft will have things planned for the coming months and years to help increase the game’s sales. Reports have strongly suggested that the Nintendo Switch successor will launch in the second half of 2024, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see an enhanced re-release of Sparks of Hope for the next-gen platform at some point in the future.
In our review of the game, we awarded it a score of 9/10, saying, “Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a massive leap over its already-excellent predecessor, making a whole host of changes and improvements and delivering an utterly charming and mechanically dense tactics experience.” Read the full review through here.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks is available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. Its third and final DLC, Rayman in the Phantom Show, is due out on August 30.