Activision announces that it has entered into a partnership with Active Music Distribution, a company based in the United Kingdom, with the aim of offering the latest installment in the Guitar Hero series, World Tour, in music instruments stores across the country.

The idea behind the deal is that the popularity of the music simulation game will translate into more people going to instrument stores. They will probably pick up a copy of the game, with its fake plastic guitars and its limited drum kit, and some of them will also find themselves drawn towards the real music instruments that are on display in stores. Thus, people playing Guitar Hero World Tour would have a chance to think about picking up a real instrument from Active Music and could even book some lessons to learn how to play it. Creating a partnership between those who sell music simulators and those who sell real music instruments means that a videogame player has a good chance to become a musician himself.

Lee Worsely, from Active Music Distribution, believes that the deal offers a “real opportunity for stores to embrace the platform and bring new customers into their shop” while Activision released a statement saying that “We have seen this growing connection between Guitar Hero and music making, so finding a partner that could take the game to the grass roots of music making seemed an obvious channel to explore. We are delighted to have partnered with Active Music and look forward to developing this market together during the coming months”.

Guitar Hero World Tour was released last week in North America for the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2, the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii. The United Kingdom launch is scheduled for November 14, the game also being available in music stores.