Geek is chic these days, especially around the San Diego Convention Center. The worlds of Hollywood, video games and comic books collided for four days at the annual International Comic-Con 2012.

Gaming has always played an important role in this pop-culture convention.

Several of the larger Hollywood studios -- Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures -- sat out "the Con" this year, which opened up more room for the growing number of online series from the likes of YouTube, Hulu and Netflix as well as gaming.

In some instances these worlds collided as Microsoft showcased the talent behind the live-action series "Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn."

Hollywood also remains infatuated with games as a big-screen source of inspiration. Sony Pictures debuted footage from "Resident Evil: Retribution 3D," the fifth film in the successful franchise starring Milla Jovovich.

Capcom creators showed attendees a first look at "Resident Evil 6," which will hit PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 just a few weeks after the movie opens September 14.

Open Road Films and Konami Digital Entertainment offered a similar double feature with "Silent Hill Revelation 3D" making its movie debut in the main hall while just down the street the game makers showed its interactive cousin, "Silent Hill: Book of Memories."

Walt Disney Animation Studios explored the classic world of arcade games with "Wreck-It Ralph," a new computer animated adventure featuring the voices of Sarah Silverman and John C. Reilly. Activision will be releasing games for Nintendo's platforms based on this film.

More game publishers used Comic-Con to debut brand new titles, even though the show is just a month after the big E3 convention.

But while that trade show is closed to the public, the San Diego shindig allowed game makers to reach the socially active early adopters that Hollywood and other marketers have long coveted by giving them hands-on time with some of the biggest games of this year (and next).