Ryu and Mega Man may consider themselves a tough tag team, but I’d put my money on Super Mario and Rabbid Mario. And it turns out that more of you actually spent your money to get the latter duo. According to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle outsold Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite in September.
NPD just reported the results of its September tracking period, which runs August 27 through September 30. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, a tactical strategy game starring Nintendo’s plumber and Ubisoft’s wacky rabbit creatures, launched August 29 for the Nintendo Switch. Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, the latest entry in the fighting-game series, debuted September 19 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. By September 30, Mario + Rabbids and Marvel vs. Capcom were the No. 5 and No. 6 top-selling games of September, respectively.
This isn’t an ideal head-to-head comparison. Mario + Rabbids launched two weeks earlier than Marvel vs. Capcom, which would give Ubisoft’s mashup a lot more time to sell copies. But Marvel vs. Capcom launched on multiple mature platforms, and it includes digital sales. Mario + Rabbids was only on the young Nintendo Switch, and it doesn’t include any digital sales.
Relative to expectations and other factors, Mario + Rabbids performed well.
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“Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was September’s top-selling game on the Nintendo Switch,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “This is the first time a third-party title has topped the Switch best sellers chart. The game entered the September all platforms chart at number five.”
Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite’s relative success is more difficult to determine. It outsold other new September releases like NHL 18 and Metroid: Samus Returns, but that’s not surprising. In terms of fighting games, Marvel is not going to match the DC fighting game Injustice 2, which launched in May. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s fighter is the No. 9 best-selling game year-to-date, and Marvel’s September debut is far from what it would take to crack that top 10 list.
