Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has admitted the financial underperformance of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was likely down to the publisher's decision to release a sequel on Switch, ignoring Nintendo's advice to "only do one iteration [of Mario] on each machine".
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope received an extremely positive critical reception when it launched last October, with many praising the smart refinements it bought its predecessor's already wonderfully engaging strategic core.
Its commercial reception was far more muted, however; in an emergency investor call held at the start of the year to share news of its considerably lower-than- expected earnings, Ubisoft admitted it had been "surprised" by Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope's "underperformance in the final weeks of 2022 and early January".