Epic Games, developer of the blockbuster Gears of War franchise and the groundbreaking Infinity Blade series, has added 3D technology company RealD into its Integrated Partners Program(IPP). Epic’s partner program brings industry-leading middleware technologies to the company’s award-winning Unreal Engine 3 (UE3), which powers many bestselling console, PC and mobile games.

Kazunori Yamauchi took a break from working on Gran Turismo 6 to check out the latest vehicles at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The head of Polyphony Digital was also in Sin City to choose the next car that will be playable in GT5 as a downloadable vehicle. At the 9th Annual GT Awards,Yamauchi awarded “Best Hot Rod" winner Mary Pozzi’s 1973 custom red Chevrolet Camaro “Best in Show”. Next year, gamers will be able to get behind the wheel of this extremely fast vehicle and take it on any course.

Nissan North America is partnering once again with Sony Computer Entertainment America and Polyphony Digital for a second season of the popular non-scripted TV series GT Academy in the U.S. The series will highlight the latest blending of virtual racing and reality. GT Academy challenges gamers and racing fans to compete in a series of online time trials in pre-selected Nissan vehicles for a shot at becoming a real racing driver. Last year’s competition drew over 53,000 competitors nationwide, with 30-year old Californian Bryan Heitkotter emerging as the winner. Heitkotter has gone on to compete in races for Nissan in the United States, Middle East and Europe. Heikotter talks about the experience in the exclusive video interview below.

American moviegoers continue to find 3D movies exciting, according to a study released today by the International 3D Society. In a poll conducted by the organization, 52% of those surveyed had seen at least one 3D movie in the last three years. This comes on the heels of RealD announcing that 20,000 theatres and 725 million people have watched a 3D movie.

LAS VEGAS – Namco Bandai and Paramount Pictures have released a new trailer and concept art from Digital Extremes’ Star Trek game. The award-winning game casts players for the first time ever as Kirk and Spock in an original co-op experience. Set in the new canon of director and producer J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) reboot, players will be immersed in the game’s rich story and action-packed combat. Check out the trailer and concept art below.

Samsung Electronics in the fourth quarter of 2011 solidified its leadership of the U.S. liquid-crystal display (LCD) market, as its share of unit shipments reached a record high, according to the IHS iSuppli Television Systems Service at information and analytics provider IHS. During the final three months of 2011, Samsung accounted for nearly one-quarter of U.S. LCD TV shipments, at 23.6 percent. This represented the largest share of the market ever posted by Samsung on a quarterly basis, and allowed the South Korean electronics giant to pad its lead over No.2 brand VIZIO Inc. of Irvine, Calif.

I admit, I was a little concerned about how Silent Hill: Downpour would turn out.  When I played the game at Konami’s booth last year at E3, I couldn’t quite get the hang of it, even though I’ve easily gotten into Silent Hill games in the past.  And considering the disappointing treatment of Silent Hill HD Collection last month (two games for $50, and with all kinds of glitches), I was fearing the worst.  But despite a few problems, Silent Hill: Downpour weathers the storm well enough to please fans of the long-running survival horror series.  Don’t expect a miracle by any means, but do expect plenty of scares and a good, engrossing story.

In what appears to be a decisive turning point, U.S. flat-panel TV shipments are projected to dip for the first time on an annual basis this year, ending an unbroken string of growth since the market began. Shipments in 2012 of flat-panel TVs into the American market are forecast to decline to 37.1 million units, down 5 percent from 39.1 million units in 2011, according to an IHS iSuppli U.S. TV Market Tracker report from information and analytics provider IHS. Only last year, shipments had inched up 1 percent from 38.6 million units in 2010. Some consumer electronics companies continue to do well, like Vizio, which can be seen in the video below showcasing new big screen TVs.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has sold more than 1.2 million units of the action-fantasy film Immortals in its first week. Nearly half of those sales were for Blu-ray versions of the game and 10% were for the 3D Blu-ray combo pack. Actor Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) talks about the 3D movie in the exclusive video interview below.

Nintendo and GameStop invited fans of multiplayer video game action to face off in an epic tournament. The tournament was held at GameStop stores in San Francisco, Orlando, and Los Angeles to celebrate the March 23 launch of Kid Icarus: Uprising on Nintendo 3DS. Gamers in LA competed for a trip to New York, where three winners from each regional tournament will compete in the finals to be crowned the nationwide champion. This tournament was open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis with the finals to be held March 22 in the Big Apple.

There’s no question we’re on a fever pitch for the new Marvel’s The Avengers film.  How could you not be?  Between Robert Downey Jr. doing his slick Iron Man thing, Samuel L. Jackson playing the baddest Nick Fury on the planet, and the return of the Hulk (and not the Ed Norton Hulk), it’s crazy how much anticipation is going into it.  Which leads us to wonder…why is there not an Avengers video game that ties in with the film?

NBA 2K12 has been roaring up the basketball charts over the past few months, mainly due to the lack of a (direct) competitor.  But it's still one hell of a sim, and players everywhere have been dunking and raining three's, even if it's without New York Knicks superstar Jeremy Lin.  (But, yeah, we know you play as him sometime.  Admit it.)  Now the madness is set to continue next month, as Best Buy has announced a new edition that will be sold exclusively through them.