Biggest Week of the Year – E3 2011 and WWDC 2011

So this is arguably the biggest week of the year, at least in terms of my and millions of others interest. Two big events are both happening: the E3 video game conference, when for three days all the video game developers get together to show off the next years worth of consoles, software, and exciting online endeavors. The other big event is Apple’s annual WWDC 2011 Conference, when Steve Jobs comes on stage and shows us all the exciting new Apple software, gadgets, and toys that we will all lust after over the course of the following year.

In the software and tech world, this is the equivalent of a week long, truncated version of the Olympics and the Presidential election rolled into one; it’s that important and that insane of a time for journalists and bloggers and everyone interested in these things. Not gonna lie, I’ve always wanted to go to E3, and would love to work for a videogames magazine or company one day; on my list of dream jobs, this has always been a high one, yet every time I’ve applied to work for a videogame company, I’ve been rejected. Perhaps one day.

So, in order to do my part, this week the Stu Station blog will be devoted to videogames and Apple products. Allow me to live my little fantasy that I’m a tech writer blogger or professional videogame reviewer.

GameTrailers has a video up of the top 10 most anticipated videogames of E3 2011. This list has me pretty excited. While I’m not that interested in Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3 should be a breathe of fresh air in the shooter genre, and in particular Bioshock Infinite may be my game of the show. Arkham City looks spectacular, as Arkham Asylum is probably the best superhero game besides being the best Batman game of all time. Missing from this list was Darksiders II, but that may be more of a niche market than the other games showcased.

Now what about Apple’s event, WWDC 2011? Those who know me know that I used to absolutely hate Apple. And ironically, it was Microsoft’s Windows Vista that caused me to change my mind. I think part of my Apple dislike pre-Vista was warranted, as the company wasn’t really the innovative group they are now, and things like iTunes’ DRM still upset me and many more. But where Vista failed, Leopard was amazing. Apple has truly led the innovation in computing, with Snow Leopard following Leopard, the amazing iPhone and iPod Touch, and eventually the iPad. Now, I’m excited for the future of Apple and computing in general (Windows 7 ain’t all that bad), but I really hope computer operating systems are replaced by iPad like OS. That may work for most people, but will gradually be the dumbing down of computers.

So what’s on schedule from Apple at WWDC 2011? Steve Jobs is supposed to reveal the next version of Mac OS X, titled “Lion”, the next operating system for iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touches, iOS 5, and finally a revamped version of iCloud, their cloud based storage and streaming service. And it wouldn’t be Apple without a “just one more thing…” moment, so who knows what else they could show.

So, next week is going to be an exciting week! I’m looking forward to watching the keynotes from Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, and Apple.