THQ is bringing downtown San Diego to life and transforming the side of Petco Park at the intersection of K St. and 7th Ave. into a live, 3D experience. Without 3D glasses, the public will have the chance to see large-format 3D images popping off walls of PETCO Park from THQ’s upcoming game, Saints Row: The Third. From tanks crushing cars to characters smashing through buildings, the 3D-event will make you feel like you are part of the game, not just a spectator. Come experience San Diego’s outdoor 3D Comic-Con extravaganza.

Gamers who live in Austin, Texas are invited to celebrate the launch of the Wii version of Sega’s Thor: God of Thunder on Saturday, April 30 at Austin Books & Comics. Marvel, Sega and Red Fly are giving gamers the chance to become the superhero both in the video game, where he battles to save his home planet of Asgard, and in the flesh at the costume party. The event will feature original comic book characters Thor and Sif in the flesh, with the Thor character being portrayed by Austin’s own Jarrett Crippen, aka “The Defuser” from Syfy.

When it comes to video games, Valve was one of the early game studios to emphasize the importance of interactive narrative in shooters like Half-Life. Storytelling remains an integral part of all of Valve’s games. And Erik Wolpaw is one of the top writers at the Seattle game studio.

According to new research from IHS Screen Digest, Nintendo’s strategy of promoting the connectivity and local networking features of its newly released Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system in the United States will help drive rapid adoption of the device this year—but won’t allow it to match sales of the previous-generation DS platform. Check out the Nintendo 3DS in action in this exclusive video below.

Electronic Arts and developer Crytek have teamed up with legendary Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer to create part of the dramatic score for the critically acclaimed first-person shooter Crysis 2, which is one of the big games of 2011. Recognized worldwide for his work on blockbuster films like Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning Inception and The Dark Knight, Zimmer and his team featuring Lorne Balfe worked with the existing composers Borislav Slavov and Tilman Sillescu to create the intense and dramatic score for Crysis 2 which sets the tone for the game’s backdrop of a devastated New York City in 2023. Crytek talks about the new 3D game in this exclusive video interview.

With the second-generation iPad launch, Apple has held the line on the bill of materials (BOM), maintaining virtually the same costs as the first version of the device, an IHS iSuppli teardown analysis of the product has revealed.  The 32GB NAND flash memory version of the iPad 2 equipped with the Global System for Mobile Communications/high-speed packet access (GSM/HSPA) air standard carries a BOM of $326.60. The 32GB version equipped with the code division multiple access (CDMA) air standard carries a BOM of $323.25. This compares with $320 for the first-generation 32GB 3G iPad, based on pricing from April 2010.

Just in time for spring training and opening day, Sony Computer Entertainment America is taking gamers out to the ballpark with the  release of the #1 selling and rated baseball video game this generation, MLB 11 The Show.  Gracing the cover of this year's installment of the market leading Major League Baseball franchise is a familiar face -- 3-time Gold Glove winner, 2-time Silver Slugger, 3-time American League (AL) batting champion, 2009 American League Most Valuable Player (MVP), and MLB 10 The Show cover athlete, Joe Mauer, All-Star catcher for the Minnesota Twins. Sony walks us through the new 3D PlayStation 3 game in this exclusive video from GDC 2011.