Mario Rabbids could see price drop even before release

The Mario Rabbids crossover is all kinds of weird. Like the way a dream throws together recognizable elements in the most random way. Here’s the latest bit of weird news from the project.

An anonymous source claims Ubisoft will drop the price to $49.99, a $10 discount compared to the standard Nintendo Switch price tag of $59.99. Nintendo Soup reported the claim.

After the highlighted presentation at the Ubisoft E3 conference, it seems a bit odd they would release with a ‘budget’ price. If that was the plan along you would assume Ubisoft would lead the marketing with the fact it was cheaper than a standard game. Telling gamers at a conference a popular game is cheaper than expected is an easy way to get the crowd on your side. If the price cut is revealed in the next few months you’d imagine this was a more recent decision. Perhaps testing has been negative? Maybe problems with development? We can only speculate at this point.

Sony announced several $40 titles at their pre-E3 show, including the my highly anticipated Everybody’s Golf!. I would assume a Rabbids and Mario crossover could easily be targeted at a family audience, but the strategic, XCOM-like strategy doesn’t scream ‘fun for the whole family’ to me.

Personally I’m always excited to see Nintendo’s unique takes on genres. Splatoon, Smash Bros, and Mario Kart are great examples of the amount of fun Nintendo can inject into a tired formula. Their version of XCOM could have been quite interesting.

However, Ubisoft is driving the ship, and while I’ve enjoyed their multiplayer efforts (Rainbow Six Siege, For Honor) I tend to find their single player titles bland. Mario and co should inject a ton of personality and I’m sure Nintendo quality control is constantly in touch with the team, but Ubisoft is still ultimately the ones creating the game.

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is due on the Nintendo Switch on August 29th.

Does a price drop make you more likely to buy Mario Rabbids?