WWDC clashes with E3 as Apple unveils June 6 - 10 dates

It's not unusual for major industry events to cluster around certain dates - there was only a week separating Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and GDC 2011 in San Francisco back in February.
The idea of two major conferences clashing, however, is a lot more complicated.
Yet Apple's news that this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2011) will run for five days from June 6 puts it in direct competition with what is the industry's biggest annual shebang: E3.
iPhone 5 unveiling?
Taking place in San Francisco's Moscone West until June 10, it's widely expected that Apple will unveil the next iteration of iPhone at the conference, though as is the norm the firm is keeping its cards close to its chest as to just what will be announced.
"At this year's conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior VP of worldwide product marketing.
"If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss."
Tale of two cities
The problem is, games developers and journalists may find E3 2011, which will be taking place almost 400 miles south in Los Angeles, a far harder proposition to ignore.
Running between June 7 and June 9, E3 is traditionally used as the opportunity for most of the industry's major announcements.
And, crucially for the handheld sector, this year's event is likely to play host to developments surrounding Sony's NGP (and, more specifically for mobile, PlayStation Suite), 3DS and perhaps even links between Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360.
If nothing else, it looks like there will be plenty of business when it comes to mid-week flights between SFO and LAX.
[source: BusinessWire]