A first production resulting from this atypical partnership has already been marketed in 2017 and its sequel, “Mario The Rabbids: Sparks of Hope”, arrives Thursday on the Switch console.
This alliance with the French publisher is a small revolution for Nintendo. Until then, he had never entrusted characters from his universe to a non-Japanese studio and only his compatriot Sega had been able to pit Mario and the hedgehog Sonic against each other in titles dedicated to the Olympic Games.
This practice of combining two different universes, also used in cinema, animation and series, is called “cross-over” and “can be done in two forms”, explains AFP Julien Pillot, economist cultural industries specialist.
Either it is the publisher, himself the owner of several iconic brands, who will marry them “to create something new”, like the “Super Smash Bros” series bringing together all the heroes of the Nintendo galaxy. (Pikachu, Link, Donkey Kong…) in an “original” fighting game.
Either they are two publishers who each have a powerful license and who agree to work together. “It’s a little rarer,” notes the specialist, in particular because of the puzzle related to rights.
Among the most striking examples of “cross-over” of the genre is the “Kingdom Hearts” series, a marriage between the universe of “Final Fantasy” from the Japanese publisher Square Enix and the Disney galaxy.
Generally, this type of partnership is concluded “by a license agreement” against a large check. “There are also royalties linked to the game’s sales figures, which can be negotiated in the contractual clauses”, details Julien Pillot.
The key also for the studio that takes care of the development, often precise specifications, so that the brand that is “loaned” to it is preserved.
– Higher business potential –
On this point, Ubisoft and its production teams in Milan claim to have had “real leeway” from Nintendo to mix its “Raving Rabbids” universe with that of “Mario”.
Illustration of this work: the invention of the “Sparks” characters, star-shaped creatures, the fruit of a graphic combination between the “Lumas”, characters that appeared in the game “Super Mario Galaxy”, and the rabbits of ‘Ubisoft.
Beyond the creative potential, what interest is there in marrying two video game brands on a commercial level?
“Mario Raving Rabbids”, this may “interest Mario players, it may interest Rabbids players, but it may also interest players of neither, just because the proposal made on this game interests them”, argues Julien Pillot.
The first part, with the bar of 10 million players reached, has already confirmed this potential.
“It attracted a lot of attention because there are not many brands that make a duet with Mario, that’s for sure,” said Xavier Manzanares, the game’s chief producer, to AFP.
