Hands-On Mobile announced today an agreement with Activision to bring Guitar Hero to mobile devices. Like, y'know, cellular phones.

I'll give you a minute to take that in.

The obvious question that the good people at Activision/RedOctane are probably ready and willing to answer is this: how would it work? Guitar Hero is an experience built almost entirely upon its awesome peripheral. Without the controller, what are we left with? Let's drink deep the PR cup, shall we? Hands-On Mobile, you're up:

"Guitar Hero is an epic game experience that has mushroomed into a cultural phenomenon," said Erik Pavelka, Vice President of Business Development, Hands-On Mobile. "We are thrilled to bring this award-winning franchise to mobile and to continue our successful relationship with Activision."

Damn, swing and a miss. But RedOctane won't let me down -- surely the hands that brought us Guitar Hero will explain how this is likely to work:

"The lifestyle of music is strongly immersed into our everyday culture, and having Guitar Hero on mobile platforms will now allow our dedicated fans the opportunity to passionately feel the music, anytime and anywhere," said Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane. "Hands-On Mobile has extensive experience and success in bringing established franchises to mobile devices, and we greatly look forward to extending the Guitar Hero brand to mobile users."

... Well, nevermind, then. I at least expected something about downloadable content -- as we're bound to see on the Xbox360, Guitar Hero is nothing if not a renewable cash cow if steadily supplied with new songs at a price -- but it seems like they're avoiding the elephant in the room, here. Guitar Hero without a guitar is StepMania, but then, I guess RedOctane might have something up their sleeves -- the World's Smallest Guitar Controller for the World's Smallest Mobile Platform or somesuch. Time will tell.

Dig the full press release after the jump. 

 

Hands-On Mobile(TM) to Rock Guitar Hero(TM)
Announces License Agreement for the Activision(R) Smash Hit

SAN FRANCISCO, Apr 02, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Hands-On Mobile, Inc.,
the world's leading developer of connected games and applications, today
announced an agreement with Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATVI), to bring the
wildly popular Guitar Hero(TM) franchise to mobile devices.

"Guitar Hero is an epic game experience that has mushroomed into a
cultural phenomenon," said Erik Pavelka, Vice President of Business
Development, Hands-On Mobile. "We are thrilled to bring this
award-winning franchise to mobile and to continue our successful
relationship with Activision."

"The lifestyle of music is strongly immersed into our everyday culture,
and having Guitar Hero on mobile platforms will now allow our dedicated
fans the opportunity to passionately feel the music, anytime and
anywhere," said Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane. "Hands-On
Mobile has extensive experience and success in bringing established
franchises to mobile devices, and we greatly look forward to extending
the Guitar Hero brand to mobile users."

Since its launch in 2005, Guitar Hero quickly became one of the most
popular console games, with Guitar Hero II(TM) topping the charts as the
best-selling console and handheld game in dollars for the U.S. for the
month of December, according to The NPD Group.

With Guitar Hero, Hands-On Mobile expands its current crop of
top-selling mobile games and applications. These include the Activision
franchise Call of Duty(R), as well as other top brands.