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We approached E3 2010 like a kid approaches Christmas Day, tearing into the cornucopia of gaming goodness, grinning ear to ear at what surprises lay within. After the fun and spectacle abated, we caught our breath and took a good look at how this show set the table for further growth within the gaming industry.

With analysts quick to pronounce gaming on the decline, E3 came roaring out in defiance of this speculation, showcasing the “something for everyone” attitude gaming has taken in the face of new gamers. Social games, accessible games, motion-controlled games, and downloadable games all had their day in the sun next to the usual slate of blockbuster titles, each vying for attention on a diverse showfloor. Between Nintendo’s 3DS, Microsoft’s Kinect, and Sony’s Move, each company had new tech to reintroduce gamers to their platforms, while also turning to classic franchises to reinvigorate a gamer base anxious for the next big thing.

(Editor’s Note: Welcome our new intern, Natalie Burch, to Denuology!  She’ll be checking in each week with a post on digital culture, her time here, and the thrill of getting our lunch orders in working at Denuo.)

This is a bittersweet post to write, because my two favorite teams, the United States and South Korea were both ousted in the Round of 16, but the World Cup is still awesome. Like many Americans, I don’t follow soccer year round, but, every four years, I live and breathe the World Cup. This year’s tournament has been especially exciting, mostly because my seven roommates and I collectively decided to take our World Cup enthusiasm to the next level. For example, I don’t want to take all of the credit for South Korea’s opening win against Greece, but my friends (one is from Seoul) and I did wake up at 5:30 AM on the day of the game to put Korean flags around my college campus, sing the Korean national anthem, and eat kimchi. So, I’d say around 50% credit is appropriate. Despite these losses, however, I remain committed to the tournament, in part because, I still have about 10 of the World Cup iPhone Apps on my phone, and some of them are really cool. Lest they go to waste, I have redirected my allegiance to Germany (I’m of German descent?) and the Netherlands (I like their orange jerseys.) So even though my excitement for the World Cup is, sadly, a bit on the downswing, I have a reason to use some great apps. Here are my five favorites (in descending order):

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Sorry about that.  This week’s issue was taken over by the World Cup’s digital vuvuzela, found inside, along with a whole bunch of other digital extensions to the planet’s favorite sporting event.  Also, we watch a digital behavior go analog as “Liking” something creeps into the real world, a classically-trained violinist playing the first level of Super Mario Bros. (not how you think), and the technology of today getting a decidedly-retro graphic design makeover.  Finally, New @ Denuo  recaps our involvement with The Betacup and how changing our coffee-drinking habits could save the planet from environmental destruction.

Download the issue here!

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I was browsing the internets the other day when I happened upon the news that Nintendo’s releasing in Japan. They look pretty fantastic (I’m especially diggin’ on that yellow one).

The video reminded me how much I love the smurf blue DSi. It kinda reflects my odd taste, and I dig that. Sadly the digital tool that reflects my odd digital tastes the most is boring on the outside. My smartphone. The 2010 smartphone is a decidedly black, white, and grey affair. Well consider this my call to arms. For color. My call for color if you will (clever, right?).

Issue 62 of Reflecteur looks into the deeper data behind photographs and video, whether its through Flickr decoding how tourists and locals photograph cities and how that data becomes a captivating image itself, or how history is revealed through Google Street View, where images from the past mesh with the present to tell a story through a digital map utility.

Also inside, the art of the font and the subcultures devoted to them, what YouTube does to a video when its downloaded and reuploaded over a thousand times, and the triumphant return of Denuo and Taco Bell’s purple, taco-dealing, free-wheeling truck.

Download Reflecteur 62 here.