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2011 Lookback - This was a pretty solid year overall. Here’s a quick glimpse of things that occurred, as far as my recollection goes.
Kicks: A lot of notable releases this year, but none more so than the Nike MAG. The kicks from ‘Back To The Future’ had collectors blowing thousands in eBay auctions for a pair, even though they weren’t even designed to be worn in everyday use. ‘Mag Watch’ was a big deal, with blogs noting any celeb or random person spotted in them and pics of them were posted online. Probably the next most notable release would have to be the recent AJ 11 Concords, which caused riots and fights in several cities and made its way to news headlines across the globe.
Tech: Google launched its owned social network Google+ during the Summer. To date, the site has over 40 million users and Google expects it to reach 400 million by the end of 2012, so obviously they’ve got major features and tricks planned. Steve Jobs’ legacy was discussed everywhere after his death. Speaking of Apple, the hyped iPhone 5 release ended up being the iPhone 4S, but that didn’t stop people from lining up to get it anyway. Blackberry fell off so hard that it led to rumors of RIM being bought by companies such as Amazon and Microsoft. Meanwhile, they poured in money this holiday season towards constant TV commercials to make sure everyone remembered who they were and knew about the new Blackberry Bold. DeLorean announced an all new electric-powered version of their classic sports car, complete with new features such as iPod connectivity. The car will be released in 2013 for about $90k.
TV: A lot of good shows popped up this year, and some were cancelled. ‘Entourage’ ended its run with a super weak final season. ‘How To Make It In America’ picked up some steam… only to be cancelled a month or so after the season finale. That resulted in quite a few petitions, protests, and the comments on a Facebook article when the news broke reached over 1000 comments, many not happy. ‘American Horror Story’ was dope, and so was ‘Wilfred.’ FX is winning with those two. Good seasons for True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, Weeds, and several others. ‘Falling Skies’ on TNT has potential. ‘Beavis & Butthead’ returned with new episodes on MTV. ‘Law & Order’ without Stabler just feels really weird. Most of people’s favorites remained likeable for the most part. 2012 is looking like it will be an even bigger year for TV watchers.
Gaming: CoD: Modern Warfare 3 and Gears Of War 3 were a big deal. Game sales have gotten ridiculous; the CoD franchise has grossed more all-time sales than box office franchises like Star Wars, for example. Mobile gaming was THE thing this year. So much that companies like Atari are now focusing exclusively on game development for phones and portable devices. We also saw franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Final Fantasy make their way to mobile platforms this year. Playstation Network got hacked and had an outage, Xbox Kinect became kind of a big deal. A lot of good games, a lot of disappointments. Grand Theft Auto V trailer was a mini event.
Music: Adele broke records while selling records. Beyonce got pregnant. Amy Winehouse passed away, and so did Heavy D. Coincidentally, he did his first live performance in over a decade at the BET Hip Hop Awards just a month before that. R.I.P. to the great Gil-Scott Heron. For rap fans, Kendrick Lamar is going places in 2012. ‘Watch The Throne’ had a crazy non-leaked release, and then a crazy tour. The album eventually went platinum. Anybody tired of LMFAO yet? Drake went platinum again. Lil Wayne’s ‘Carter IV’ went platinum. He’s said things such as it may be his last album, and then he’s also said he’s working on both ‘Carter V’ and ‘Carter VI.’ Wiz Khalifa’s “Black & Yellow” single went 3x platinum in the U.S., and the album ‘Rolling Papers’ went gold. Royce Da 5’9” and Eminem linked up to release their new ‘Bad Meets Evil’ project, which went gold. Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber and Rihanna… don’t have to even say anything else, just their names. J. Cole finally released his anticipated album, and it’s currently inching closer toward gold status. Many many good releases across several genres this year. Android launched their own Music Marketplace, giving you another major choice from iTunes and Amazon for purchasing music. 2012 will continue the trend of high digital music sales.
Movies: A ton of sequels everywhere, and many flicks overall were pretty disappointing. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson started appearing in rated R projects. Now all of a sudden he’s in major action movies opposed to kid flicks. Transformers 3 grossed 1.12 billion and became the 4th highest grossing film of all time… despite a lot of negative reviews. Green Lantern? Solid. Pirates Of The Caribbean 4? Eh. Fast Five was the most bootlegged film of 2011, however it was surprisingly fun. The anticipated final chapter in the Harry Potter series came and went. Another Twilight? Eh. After-credits bonus scenes have gotten more common; while people flock out of theaters, they’ve missed some juicy scenes that have given glimpses towards sequels. X-Men: First Class, Thor, and Captain America also kept up the trend of superhero flicks. The Muppets were back with a brand new movie for the new generation. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was a good release to end the year. Blu-ray movies and players have gotten significantly cheaper, which means DVD might start getting phased out completely in 2012.
Others: DC Comics rebooted their entire comic book catalog, and titles such as Superman, Batman, and Justice League have basically thrown away decades of history in favor of brand new starts. NBA and NFL both had lockouts, and both ended eventually. Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s all-time NFL record for passing yards in a season, which had stood since 1984. Kate Upton was one of the most searched models on the internet, splashing on the scene as an 18 (now 19) year old rookie. Casey Anthony… eh. 3D has become a huge deal; commercials for movies usually advertise ‘In 3D’ as a selling point now, 3D TVs continue to sell, 3D gaming is here, and we even saw a few kicks released with 3D designs on them. Quite a few 3D phones will see a release in 2012, as well.
Countless other happenings went down across the world. You were probably watching them on Youtube or tweeting about them. We’ll see more of that in the coming year… welcome to 2012!
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xionone
