Gaming is a huge pillar in the house of Headset Buddy. We’ve written about gaming news – in particular, the highly-anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto V, perhaps the greatest video game of 2013 – before in this blog, but it’s been a few weeks so it’s time for an update. What are some of the big stories in gaming the past few months? Headset Buddy is eagerly listening in.

Well, the fallout from GTA has been huge! September 2013 saw a staggering 27% increase in nationwide gaming sales, largely due to the Rock Star Games juggernaut. The crime-and-chase epic accounted for more than half of those sales. The video game actually broke seven different Guinness World Records. But there were other, non-car theft-focused highlights of the sales numbers. Software sales jumped 52% from this time last year, with sports video games in particular raking it in. From USA Today’s gaming news site:

“Sports games finished strong last month, with four titles appearing in the top 10 in sales: Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, FIFA 14 and NHL 14. The complete top 10 (publishers in parentheses): 1. Grand Theft Auto V (Take-Two Interactive) 2. Madden NFL 25 (Electronic Arts) 3. NBA 2K14 (Take-Two Interactive) 4. Diablo III (Activision Blizzard) 5. FIFA 14 (Electronic Arts) 6. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX (Square Enix) 7. Disney Infinity (Disney Interactive) 8. NHL 14 (Electronic Arts) 9. Minecraft (Microsoft) 10. Saints Row IV (Deep Silver)”

It goes without saying that Headset Buddy customized information technology products can come in handy with both software and games.

The other report takeaway is that the gaming hardware market is continuing its plateauing sales trend as customers await the release of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the next two consoles in the Sony and Microsoft (respectively) lineages.

In reports that merge the gaming and film world, Academy Award-nominated actress Ellen Page (she’s Juno, as well as the powerful architect at the heart of Inception) recently starred in a new video game for PlayStation 3, Beyond: Two Souls. Page plays Jodie Holmes, a troubled young girl whose life is thrown into chaos by the arrival of an otherworldly guardian named Aiden. The game is described as an “interactive drama.” Page was actually not the only professional actor on the game. The great Willem Dafoe is also in the cast in the role of the government-affiliated Dr. Nathan Dawkins.

Beyond is more story-focused than more traditional video games. The controls are situation-based and simpler than usual. The director of the game, David Cage, is a veteran of this type of game design. He is the creator of several games in the genre, including the 2010 hit Heavy Rain.

For her part, Page was all raves about her new performance. From the same USA Today site:

“’The experience was incredibly fulfilling,” she says. ‘That’s probably one thing that I didn’t expect going into it. I thought I was going to have an interesting time and do something new and different, and knew I was going to have to work really hard. I don’t think I necessarily expected doing a video game was going to be one of the most fulfilling acting experiences.’”

Whether you are a fan of the immersive world of GTA, a sports game pro, or a follower of story-based gaming, Headset Buddy can bring the sound bright and clear to any gaming experience. Tell us what you think of these games by commenting below, on our Facebook, or Twitter!