Activision's Guitar Hero has been frustrating real guitarists since day one by simplifying the efforts of guitar legends into five buttons. The next game Guitar Hero World Tour, was just announced, and it seems to cater more towards actual musicians -- software synth-using producers over six stringers.

Sure, to keep their normal base interested and compete with Rock Band, it still packed with traditional Guitar style play, featuring Linkin Park, Sublime and other such bands that infuriate me. Plus, World Tour expands the number of simultaneous players -- adding an electronic kit and microphone for more of a "band experience." But those aren't the features of interest to this article.

Basically, it's the new Music Studio, and I'll step aside and let RedOctane Head of Publishing, Dusty Welch introduce it:

“Guitar Hero has set the standard for music-based gaming and with Guitar Hero World Tour and the game’s groundbreaking Music Studio, we are once again delivering unprecedented innovation that has the potential to revolutionize consumer generated music, much in the same way that video sharing hubs have driven user generated video.

Music Studio adds a music creation element to the game, reaching further over the gap between video games and music. It allows players to create digital music from the ground up inside the game. Parts for all instruments can be created so players can build full tracks and share them with other users, however, it'll be tough to tell how in-depth this will be until the game is released or at least until more information is out regarding the Music Studio aspect of the game.

I think it's commendable that Activision is nursing gamers into musicians, however something tells me that any players seriously inspired to create music should invest in either an actual instrument or a software synth like Propellerheads Reason. You'll probably already be spending as much money on Guitar Hero World Tour anyway.