Switch Game Sales Make Up Three Percent Of Ubisoft’s Total Earnings In Second-Quarter Of 2018-19

Perhaps if we had more ubisoft games for Switch...

Ubisoft hadn't really released any new titles by the end of September, right?

Surprising.. but Ubisoft seem quite greedy?

Considering the recent amount of shovelware and lack of true exclusives from Ubisoft on the Switch, this isn't surprising at all.

There are Ubisoft games...on Switch?

As far as I can recall Starlink is the only new Ubisoft game on Switch since Mario + Rabbids that anyone's actually cared about, so of course the sales are going to be low if it doesn't take into account the only game that could feasibly bump those numbers.

Also, if Ubisoft actually had more big games on Switch to begin with then this might not have been much of a problem...

It makes sense. There are more PS4’s, PC’s and XBOX’s are in the wilderness, than the Switch. I’m actually quite surprised they had as high as 19%. But yes, the massive drop off to 3% is rather large, maybe a certain assassin game remake would have kept that figure higher 😉

@Turrican280 That, and there aren't as many Switch units and Ubisoft games on Switch.

@Discostew

Absolutely agree, I edited my comment as I didn’t add that in originally 👍

Why has this even became a recurring topic, as if anyone really even cares? Whats so Special about Ubi, What percentage of SquareEnix's Sales make up Nintendo? Or Maybe 2k, or what about Epic Games, or even EA? I'm getting the feeling this is just low hanging fruit for filler.

Just throw us some ports, Ubisoft, we love them.

If all games released by Ubisoft had released on Switch alongside PS4, Xbox and PC, then I think this percentage would be disastrous. HOWEVER, we know that isn’t the case.

When you consider that they released blockbuster titles like Assassins Creed Odyssey and Far Cry 5 as well as the Crew 2 on other platforms you can see why sales have done well there.

Having said that, they are still giving fairly good Switch support with the South Park games, Child of Light and some board games. Although many would have these on other platforms or not be interested.

I’m guessing comparatively, Starlink and Just Dance are doing as well on Switch as they would on XBox at least. Probably better because of the audience. But that isn’t reflected in the percentages.

In total, I think Ubisoft is giving quite good support for the Switch compared to other developers. If they want to get more sales, they have to release their blockbusters on the system, find better games to bring over from their back catalog or produce exclusives that suit the Switch audience.

If it doesn’t include Starlink then of course. After the holiday season Ubisoft will have also shifted a lot more copies of Mario + Rabbids and Starlink.

Well from this we can tell Starlink has been a sales flop, I can't imagine it sold much better on other consoles than it did Switch, especially since they got the lesser version. The vast majority of Ubisoft sales will have come from the latest Assasins Creed and Far Cry.

Hmmm... Once again, without actual sales figures, it's difficult to work how much or if sales have slumped. All we can say for certain is that the proportion of sales has fallen.

If Ubi wants my money they should put more AAA titles to Switch, even if in a somehow downgraded form. Tom Clancy's shooters, Assassin's Creed, Anno, Heroes of Might & Magic, The Settlers, Far Cry, to name a few.

There are only two “new” games on the Switch. And one of them is a decent port. So this really isn’t big news.

Do nothing
Nothing happens as a result
Ubisoft: [insert pikachu meme]

I wonder what nintendo ip will they do next year.

That's poor company figures and 3% really is not worth bothering about. Unless there are more Switch games in the pipeline.

Speaking of Starlink, Argos have it, with the Arwing, down to £40 at the moment, from £70, if anyone's interested.

@OorWullie Not only from these results. All the starter packs are way cheaper already then when they launched, on all platforms. Wondering if that has something to do with the physical toys.

I think 3% isn't that bad though, when you compare it to Assassin's Creed launch on the PS4, xBox and PC, which sold millions.

The more important thing is how much profit those switch games made, if they made a lot, you can count on Ubisoft to make more switch games.

I think you should release some games if you want sales.

@OorWullie starlink is outside this window. Also I believe you got it wrong as it is the better version (more content and modes)

Bearing in mind that there no microtransactions in the games Ubisoft launched on switch that is expected...

@OorWullie second quarter doesn't include Starlink - so it has no bearing on these figures. Maybe all they released in that quarter was UNO.

It would have been useful if the article mention the Ubisoft games released (or non-existence of) in the period that would affect this figure.

@Balta666 Yep,that's what I meant. The Switch has the better version. I could have worded it better.

No games, no sales.
And just the sales of Assassins Creed Odyssey are probably around 80% of the whole amount.

The one with the 44% gets all the games 🙄

@Kalmaro there is actually about 14 ubisoft games

It'll be interesting to see how their sales were for the later part of the year, especially with the Starlink Starter's Pack being discounted across the board so early. I'm glad that the pricing strategy backfired (though the EU/UK pricing for the Standard Digital Edition is still extortionate seeing as you don't actually get any physical objects that cost money to make). I'm guessing the starter pack is discounted because it's the edition with the least content gameplay wise. They're probably hedging their bets on people buying it discounted and then spending more money on extra toys and/or DLC.

Not enough quality games I’ve bought mario and rabbids and nothing else from them and I’m guessing most people have done the same

@ilikeike yeah , why are they not maximizing what they can release on switch? They need more exclusive games like Mario + Rabbids.

You can’t release no games but expect massive sales ok so there are a few Ubisoft games on the switch but none that have been released recently starlink was half price in smyths toys last weekend

It would be more interesting to look at sales comparisons for games that are released on all platforms. I wouldn't be surprised if sales of Risk and Hasbro Family Night were appalling across the board.

@oji
Yo tambien , amigo !

And a new rayman, coz whynot.

Remember Red Steel 2? How about a 3? Or a ZombiU sort of game, I actually still consider that among the greatest games on Wii U, despite its flaws. The idea was great, and the execution was fantastic but had its share of flaws. Still have it, from my day one bundle.

But do these numbers include Legendary Fishing? That’s the real question here

Pssst, hey Ubi, port Assassin's Creed Black Flag already, along with the Ezio Trilogy and the first game. People will buy these to play on the go, I promise.

Publishers are so hard headed these days.

Seriously stats are for geeks here. If you took the ps4 sales figures for the same games they released on switch then i'm sure this would show a small percentage too.

FAKE NEWS !!

Here come all the comments stating that if UbiSoft produced all their mature triple AAA content for the Switch,the games would sell tonnes....which of course in reality they would not.

@Ooyah completely agree. When they put the effort in they got great results in sales. This year they have released fringe titles(I want to call them something else but I’m trying to be kind) and so sales are down. If they released any of their big hitters they would def sell.

@Toads-Friend accusing a company of being greedy is like accusing water of being wet. It's in their nature.

@onex no they won't. Collections like these almost never sell well.

Starlink of course

@Dromosus Ubisoft Europe killed StarLink with the pricing, especially when compared to the US which was so much cheaper. Should have been £50 out of the gate. Now even at £ 40 people aren't buying as it's see, unfairly perhaps, as a dud. They also mishandled Crew 2, with the updated original being superior. And while innovation is to be applauded, fans of the original driving game weren't crying out for boats and planes.

I guess people aren't much into Just Dancing anymore.

If only there were more Ubisoft games on the switch lol. Also, Ubisoft doesn’t make that many games worth full retail price these days.

But... Sports Party? Isn't that the best selling game on Switch?

Aside from Rabbids and Starlink, I have bought none of their other Switch games. Where is Assassin's Creed? Far Cry? I don't want a dancing game or lazy board games

Maybe if they released some more games I'd buy them. If they could get Odyssey to somehow run on the system, I'd totally buy it.

Strange that they did better last year by bringing out some big titles on the console. They pretty much brought out zip to the end on August and there's a drop in like for like sales.

I'd love an Assassin's Creed Collection on the Switch btw.

Well it is Q2 which doesn’t include most of their releases this year so considering that...those aren’t bad sales with nothing to sustain them.

@ilikeike more than any other major western third party.

I just ordered Starlink yesterday since it was on massive sale at Amazon. It seems like it will be a good game, but I didn't want to pay $75 for it. At $40, I think it will be enjoyable. Hopefully switch games pick up again this quarter.

Well this is just common sense. Rabbids is over a year old now, so those sales were inflated last time cause it became a sleeper hit. Other than a Rayman port, Just Dance, and a few board games on Switch, what has Ubisoft really put on the console?? No one should really be surprised by this. I'm more curious how Battle for Atlas is gonna go over, but we won't see those results for a while.

@Shambo

Oh man, Red Steel 2 was one of my favorite games on the Wii. I'd love to see a new game, but I'd even be happy with a port.

Watch as whatever they had in store for the Switch gets delayed for a multiplatform release.

Then again, I most likely already came up with this joke before.

... twice over, in fact.

We need a new Rayman with no freaking touch gimmick this time.

@johnvboy Oh, I would have to disagree with that. If they release quality games, they will sell. Just look at sales of some 5 to 7 year old ports. Those are just people double dipping, or in some cases, triple dipping. The Switch is much different from Wii and Wii U, in that it attracts gamers to not only the handheld side, but the console side as well. I think you underestimate the power of convenience.

@jockmahon I meant more recently.

@ilikeike : nope they also released a few quality ports like child of light, lumines, south park and valliant hearts.

Starlink being the big one with Starfox in it.

@Kalmaro If you read between the lines without paying attention to that "slump in sales" comment... that's actually the point I think.

A: Switch games represents barely a notable percentage of their sales at first sight.

B: They also have very little Switch games in the first place, yet individually they have had surprising sales with re: Starlink Battle for Atlas even managing to sell more on Switch than any of it's other versions.

If you look closely at that, you can imagine that it's actually less dreadful than it sounds like. After all we're talking 2-3 titles on a single console indeed representing "only" 3 percents of total sales.... when compared to what might as well be hundred of other games on all the other consoles.

Like, those sales figures even go to cover consoles that aren't supported anymore such as the Wii/PS3/Xbox 360. We're talking stuff that's almost beyond the last generation.

So in that regard, I'd say that 3% shouldn't be that underestimated because it may well indeed means much more than we could expect.

I could be wrong, but the way I see it I doubt Ubisoft will be abandonning the Switch anytime soon. Perhaps even more that might actually invigorate them to release more stuff on it but also very much to specifically experiment further to see what else can stick to the level of Mario+Rabbid.

Like, in a way that could result in what many fans were begging for since a while now: Perhaps less release, but more of these releases being titles custom-tailored to the console itself rather than being botched ports of other consoles' titles. And if they can catch the lightning-in-a-bottle success of something like Mario+Rabbid even if only just a second time, I can well imagine the presence of Ubisoft on Switch going from "probable" to "cemented certainty".

@Ludovsky I should hope they don't abandon us. Mushroom kingdom battle was phenomenal! They can make good sales on Switch.

Well as soon as I hear the name Ubisoft or E.A. I'm sceptical of the quality of the game they want to sell me.

@MoonKnight7 Well, if you read the article Battle for Atlas already did better on Switch than any of the other consoles it released on.

Now I don't know the total sales of the title, but the fact is the Switch is still where it proved to sell "more" than elsewhere.

That alone should be an interesting bit of data since it shows Ubisoft that even if Starlink doesn't sell as much than they hoped, it still did better on Switch than everywhere else so the fault wouldn't be on the console itself and still show there is greater potential on Switch for some IPs than on other consoles.

And to a degree that's what I could picture going forward. Think about it, this sales chart covers consoles going as far back as the Wii for sales of this year.

That means they're not just covering games released this year but very much this year's sales of games that were released as far back as two consoles generations ago and the Switch's current generation.

That represents likely hundred of games in Ubisoft's portfolio yet the 2-3 major games they released on Switch still manage to represents 3% of the entirety of their sales in a catalogue that, again, likely cover hundred of different titles and DLCs.

So the way I see it I feel they will still end up evlauating what indeed did work on Switch. Thus what I could picture going forward is indeed "less" releases for Switch... but more of them being custom-tailored for the console rather than being cheap half-baked port of other consoles' games.

Basically: More Mario+Rabbid-style efforts, less WiiU era-style Assassin Creed IV ports abandonned right after release.

It's a misleading statistic. Ubisoft had more games on Switch this year but they also had more HUGE games on other platforms (Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Far Cry 5, many sales on big franchises like Ghost Recon: Wildlands.)

So as a percentage of TOTAL there's a drop on Switch, but how much of that total is an increase from last year in general attributed to new games not on Switch? We'd need to see if actual unit sales went up or down rather than a percentage in a vacuum where most of their products weren't offered on Switch in a year that featured a release in two of their flagship franchises.

@Kalmaro The way I see it is twofold.

I do predict indeed less games on Switch going from there. But with the continued sales of something like Mario+Rabbid, I do see more of what gets released on Switch to be custom-tailored to the console specifically rather than cheap ports like the WiiU-era Assassin Creed IV ports that were dead-on-arrival right after being released.

So in a way I see something many fans were begging for since a while: more games released on Nintendo's consoles that specifically consider the nature of the console rather than forcing games designed for other consoles as a cheap cash grab.

So basically: less easily forgotten titles, more dedicated efforts even if it means less titles overall. Ensuring greater chances of a few major hits rather than a string of forgettable failures.

Specially, whoever made Mario+Rabbids is a studio that I highly doubt is going to disapear anytime soon when there's even just the slightest chance of catching lightning in a bottle again even if just only a second time

Strangely enough, people are finding there's a correlation between how many games a company releases on a platform... and sales on that platform.

With the VERY few games we have on the switch from them it's really no surprise

So Mario + Rabbids practically accounted for 3% of Ubisofts sales; given that its the only game of note that Ubisoft have actually released on the Switch.

@Ludovsky

"Basically: More Mario+Rabbid-style efforts, less WiiU era-style Assassin Creed IV ports abandoned right after release."

I agree with this. I think a telling sign of this is Star Fox making an appearance in Atlas. I definitely think that's where Ubisoft is trying to head.

@MoonKnight7 Tbh, if things continue as they are I could easily imagine some Ubisoft studios becoming, whether it was planned or not, a spiritual successor to the Rareware of old.

Namely that of being a third party entity which Nintendo could increasingly let develop major games featuring Nintendo's own first party characters.

Heck I wouldn't even be surprised if Ubisoft rather than Square Enix was to someday develop a new spiritual successor to Mario RPG Legend of the 7th Star.

There's definitely been some moments where watching the environments of Mario+Rabbids in exploration sequences made me pine for a Mario RPG proper rendered to similar gaphics levels.

Edit: Like, sincerely. I loved Mario+Rabbids but gosh have some moments actually made me wish to see a remake of 7th Stars with that style of graphics.

Why is anyone surprised when the big AAA franchises of Ubisoft only appeared on the Switch in Japan via a streaming rental?

It's almost like when they complained about slow/low Wii U sales, yet delayed the release or gimped every game they put on the console.

what i care about is that Nintendo's consoles are still not a healthy ecosystem for most 3d party developers. I only care cause that means less games.

Now imagine if they actually made games for Switch!

@johnvboy

And here comes that girl/guy with the predictable statements that clearly seem to be ASSuming that the bulk of users here are frothing, mindless zealots. Trying to put words in people's mouths & going on to make dumber statements that seem just as if not more so as irrational & out of touch than the people that they're trying to call out. Quite funny & ironic that it seems that you"re one of the 1st ( & maybe only ones that I've seen thus far) going on like so. Lol Yeah, go sit down sonewhere nah-stradumbus & stop trying to derail things. Where's the mute button on this thing? Lol

I think a lot more devs should port last gen games to switch. I would LOVE to play GTA IV and that kind of thing on the go. Hell...I'd even go back to GTA 3 and Vice City if they ported it from pc...

@gameboy1975,

What????????

I will leave the dumb statements to you fella,you seem to doing just fine by yourself.

Does anyone know what Ubisoft released for the Switch in the second quarter? I really don't remember anything. I would imagine this number will improve for the second half of the year which will include Starlink, Just Dance, and a surge of casual games they released for Switch. And many people dismiss those casual games, but they're probably getting OK sales. I bought Legendary Fishing last week and for $30, it's decent fun.