When it comes to fast-and-furious rhythm games, although the genre never really took off in the West, there was one huge exception: Guitar Hero. Now, this legendary franchise is poised to make a comeback, and better yet, it's heading to the mobile platform! However, Activision's announcement has stumbled right out of the gate, leaving fans less than thrilled.
The announcement was made not with a trailer or a press release, but with an AI-generated promotional image shared on Instagram. This choice has overshadowed the excitement of the franchise's return, especially following another widely-reported use of AI in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. The AI art used for Guitar Hero Mobile's announcement has been widely criticized for its poor quality, with many noting that it may not have even been created using the latest image generators.
As for details on what Guitar Hero Mobile will look and sound like, there's disappointingly little to go on. The series did come to mobile nearly 20 years ago, as seen below, but fans are hoping for something more impressive this time around.
The backlash against the AI-generated art suggests that Guitar Hero Mobile might be dead on arrival, especially with strong competition like Space Ape's popular BeatStar. While the idea of Guitar Hero returning and potentially thriving on mobile is exciting, Activision's choice of announcement has dampened the enthusiasm.
In the meantime, if you're interested in seeing how other top franchises have fared on smartphones, you might want to explore the top 9 Final Fantasy games available on mobile.
