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Nominees for E3 2012 Game Critics Awards announced

Stephany Nunneley-Jackson avatar
News by Stephany Nunneley-Jackson News Editor
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The judges for the Game Critics Awards have announced the nominees for "The Best of E3 2012." The list is posted below, and winners will be announced on Tuesday, June 26. There's also a list of multiple nominees below as well, with Dishonored, Halo 4, and The Last of Us receiving four each.

Best of Show

  • Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
  • The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
  • Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Original Game

  • Beyond: Two Souls (Quantic Dream/SCEE for PlayStation 3)
  • Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Quantum Connundrum (Airtight Game/Square Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
  • Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Best Console Game

  • Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks for PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
  • The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
  • Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square-Enix for PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Handheld/Mobile Game

  • Assassin's Creed III Liberation (Ubisoft Sofia/Ubisoft for PSVita)
  • Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (Dreamrift/Disney Interactive Studios for 3DS)
  • Infinity Blade Dungeons (Epic Games/Epic Games for iOS)
  • Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (Next Level Games/Nintendo for 3DS)
  • New Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for 3DS)
  • Sound Shapes (Queasy Games/SCEA for PSVita)

Best PC Game

  • Company of Heroes 2 (Relic/THQ for PC)
  • Hawken (Adhesive Games/Meteor Entertainment for PC)
  • PlanetSide 2 (Sony Online Entertainment/Sony Online Entertainment for PC)
  • SimCity (Maxis/EA for PC)
  • X-Com: Enemy Unknown (Firaxis Games/2K Games for PC)

Best Hardware/Peripheral

  • Astro A50 Wireless Gaming Headset (Astro)
  • Rift VR Headset (Palmer Lucky/John Carmack/id Software)
  • Wii U (Nintendo)
  • Wonderbook (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)
  • Skylanders: Giants Figures (Toys for Bob/Activision)

Best Action Game

  • Borderlands 2 (Gearbox/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Treyarch/Activision for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Crysis 3 (Crytek/EA for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
  • Metal Gear Rising: Revengence (Platinum Games/Kojima Pro/Konami for PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Action/Adventure Game

  • Assassin's Creed III (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360)
  • Beyond: Two Souls (Quantic Dream/SCEE for PlayStation 3)
  • Dishonored (Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • The Last of Us (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
  • Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Square Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Role Playing Game

  • Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance (Square Enix/Square Enix for 3DS)
  • Ni No Kuni (Level-5/Namco Bandai for PlayStation 3)
  • Persona 4 Golden (Atlus/Atlus for PSVita)
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard (BGS/Bethesda for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • South Park: The Stick of Truth (Obsidian Entertainment/THQ for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Fighting Game

  • Dead or Alive 5 (Team Ninja/Tecmo Koei for PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us (NetherRealm Studios/WBIE for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U)
  • Persona 4 Arena (Arc System Works/Atlus for PS3, Xbox 360)
  • PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale (SuperBot/SCEA for PlayStation 3, PSVita)
  • Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Namco Bandai Games/Namco Bandai Games for PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Racing Game

  • F1 2012 (Codemasters/Codemasters for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Forza Horizon (Playground Games/Turn 10 Studios/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
  • LittleBigPlanet Karting (United Front Games/Media Molecule/SCEA for PS3)
  • Need for Speed Most Wanted (Criterion Games/EA for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed (Sumo/Sega for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita, 3DS)

Best Sports Game

  • FIFA Soccer 13 (EA Canada/EA Sports for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Madden NFL 13 (EA Tiburon/EA Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
  • NBA 2K13 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports for PS3, Xbox 360)
  • NHL 13 (EA Canada/EA Sports for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 (PES Productions/Konami for PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, 3DS)

Best Strategy Game

  • Company of Heroes 2 (Relic/THQ for PC)
  • End of Nations (Petroglyph Games/Trion Worlds for PC)
  • SimCity (Maxis/EA for PC)
  • Pikmin 3 (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for Wii U)
  • XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Firaxis Games/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Best Social/Casual Game

  • Dance Central 3 (Harmonix/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
  • Game & Wario (working title) (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo for Wii U)
  • Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (TT/WBIE for PC, PS3, PSVita, X360, Wii, 3DS)
  • Nintendoland (Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii U)
  • Rock Band Blitz (Harmonix for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Best Motion Simulation Game

  • Dance Central 3 (Harmonix/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
  • Fable: The Journey (Lionhead/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
  • Game & Wario (working title) (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo for Wii U)
  • Just Dance 4 (Ubisoft/Ubisoft for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Wii U)
  • Wii Fit U (Nintendo/Nintendo for Wii U)
  • Wonderbook: Books of Spells (London Studio/SCEE for PlayStation 3)

Best Online Multiplayer Game

  • Borderlands 2 (Gearbox/2K Games for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Treyarch/Activision for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Halo 4 (343 Industries/Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360)
  • Need for Speed Most Wanted (Criterion/EA for PC, PS3, PSVita, Xbox 360)
  • PlanetSide 2 (Sony Online Entertainment/Sony Online Entertainment for PC)

Best Downloadable Game

  • Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (Arkedo Studio/Sega for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Quantum Conundrum (Airtight Games/Square Enix for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Retro City Rampage (VBlank Entertainment for PC, PS3, PSVita, Xbox 360, Wii)
  • The Cave (Double Fine/Sega for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
  • Unfinished Swan (Giant Sparrow/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Most Nominations

Four Nominations: Dishonored, Halo 4, The Last of Us

Three Nominations: Assassin's Creed III, Tomb Raider

Two Nominations:

  • Beyond: Two Souls
  • Borderlands
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops II
  • Company of Heroes 2
  • Dance Central 3
  • Game & Wario (wt)
  • Need for Speed Most Wanted
  • Planetside 2
  • Quantum Conundrum
  • SimCity
  • Unfinished Swam
  • XCOM: EnemY Unknown

Publisher Breakdown (Plus Trend Analysis Over Past 4 Years)

  • Sony Computer Entertainment: 12 nominations (-2 from 2011; +6 from 2010; -1 from 2009; +1 from 2008)
  • Microsoft: 8 nominations (-3 from 2011; -3 from 2010; +3 from 2009; +1 from 2008)
  • Electronic Arts: 8 nominations (-6 from 2011; -7 from 2010; -10 from 2009; -13 from 2008)
  • Nintendo: 8 nominatinos (+2 from 2011; +3 from 2010; +3 from 2009; +5 from 2008)
  • Bethesda: 6 nominations (+1 from 2011; Same as 2010; +6 from 2009; +3 from 2008)
  • Square Enix: 6 nominations (+3 from 2011; +5 from 2010; +3 from 2009; +4 from 2008)
  • Ubisoft: 5 nominations (-2 from 2011; Same as 2010; +2 from 2009; +1 from 2008)
  • 2K Games: 5 nominations (Same as 2011; +3 from 2010; +4 from 2009: +5 from 2008)
  • Sega: 3 nominations
  • THQ: 3 nominations (+1 from 2011; +1 from 2010; +3 from 2009; Same as 2008)
  • Activision: 3 nominations (+1 from 2011; +1 from 2010; -7 from 2009; +2 from 2008)
  • Namco: 2 nominations (-1 from 2011; +2 from 2010; Same as 2009; +1 from 2008)
  • Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment: 2 nominations (-4 from 2011; Same as 2010; -1 from 2009; +1 from 2008)
  • SOE: 2 nominations
  • Atlus: 2 nominations

Nominee Breakdown by Platform (Multiplatform games are counted in all appropriate platform tallies)

  • PlayStation 3 - 52 nominations (+4 from 2011; +13 from 2010; +13 from 2009; +14 from 2008)
  • Xbox 360 - 48 nominations (-7 from 2011; +2 from 2010; +6 from 2009; +6 from 2009)
  • PC - 41 nominations (-1 from 2011; +11 from 2010; +18 from 2009; +14 from 2008)
  • PSVita - 7 nominations (same as 2011)
  • 3DS - 6 nominations (+1 from 2011)
  • Wii - 4 nominations (+2 from 2011; -10 from 2010; -4 from 2009; -4 from 2008)
  • Wii U - 5 nominations (+4 from 2011)
  • iPad - 1 nomination (same as 2011)

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