Hands-On Mobile announced that they have obtained the worldwide mobile phone licensing rights to develop and publish Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero III - Backstage Pass mobile phone game. Guitar Hero World Tour will be released on mobile phones later this year in conjunction with the console game, while the follow-up title will be available to users in 2009.
"We are excited to continue our relationship with Activision and further extend the Guitar Hero franchise to fans worldwide. The popularity of the Guitar Hero games in the mobile phone environment proves that a multiplatform approach complements the success of a franchise like Guitar Hero," said David White, CEO of Hands-On Mobile. "We are confident the upcoming titles will further advance the mobile phone gaming industry in a significant way and provide consumers with the opportunity to stay connected to their favorite games."
As one of the company's most ambitious mobile titles to date, Guitar Hero World Tour will push boundaries with cross-carrier, real-time multiplayer capabilities and an interactive web companion that will allow players to create profiles, browse leaderboards and download new music. In addition to the guitar, Guitar Hero World Tour mobile will include drums as a playable feature for every song in the game. Further pushing the boundaries on mobile phones, Hands-On Mobile will make the MP3 quality master recordings available on an increased number of handsets across all platforms.
"Hands-On Mobile has been an ideal partner to recreate the Guitar Hero franchise for mobile phone gaming," said Dusty Welch, Head of Publishing for Guitar Hero. "The Guitar Hero Mobile platform has proven to be a phenomenal success and a great way for gamers to experience the franchise on yet another platform."
In June 2008, Guitar Hero III Mobile received BREW Developer Awards for Top Application and People's Choice and was named the Best Mobile Game of 2007 - after its release in December - at the 2008 Casual Game Awards. In addition, Guitar Hero III Mobile, a marquee game in its current collection of Guitar Hero branded mobile phone games, has reached more than 2 million game downloads and more than 50 million downloaded songs to date. The second game in the Guitar Hero Mobile series, Guitar Hero III: Backstage Pass recently launched on carriers across the country. For more information, please visit www.guitarheromobile.com.