Ubisoft CEO: Mario+Rabbids follow up belonged on Switch follower

Ubisoft’s Yves Guillemot thinks 2015’s release of Mario+Rabbits: Sparks of Hope was too soon. The head of the French studio told GamesIndustry that the sequel could have fared better commercially if it had been released on the (yet-to-be-announced) successor to the Nintendo Switch.

It came as a shock when he revealed that Nintendo had actually suggested holding off on releasing the game until then, with the developer explaining that they were “[advised] that it’s much better to do one model on each maker.” We should have waited for [the next console]; we arrived a little too soon.

Since its release in late 2022, Ubisoft’s Stimulates of Hope has been a major topic of discussion. It was one of many games released during the holidays that did poorly, and Guillemot was right on the money when he said that the developer must have followed Nintendo’s lead.

He didn’t elaborate on the nature of the discussions or why Ubisoft decided to release the game in 2015. A little bit of time to enjoy the “25 Mario video games on [the Nintendo] Change,” as he put it, would have been nice.

Launching Mario video games is everything about the timing

New Mario games are consistently released, making the series one of Nintendo’s most important properties. In the case of Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart, for example, Nintendo typically releases only one game in each series each console.

Here is where the character’s popularity helps and hurts Ubisoft’s method sequel. The longevity of the Japanese designer’s first-party games is something that has been acknowledged by Guillemot, and Mario is the clearest example of this.

Further, he recalled that the vexing popularity of 2017’s Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle may have backfired on the sequel. “By doing another, we had 2 comparable experiences on one device,” he said. Such games are eternal on Nintendo, they say.

Despite the slump in Stimulates’s sales, the game (or both of them) may make the jump to the next Nintendo console. According to Guillemot, “we will upgrade it for the brand-new maker that will be available in the future,” thus the game “will last for 10 years.”

You can read more of Guillemot’s thoughts on recent and upcoming Ubisoft titles like “Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown” and “Star Wars Outlaws” on GamesIndustry.

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