Nintendo Wins Big at E3

People may have made fun of its name, but the Wii went down well with the judges of the Game Critics Awards.

The votes for the 2006 Game Critics Awards are in and Nintendo is the one popping champagne. Though its Wii console didn't win the most awards - that privilege went to Sims creator Will Wright's new PC game, Spore - it did prove itself worthy enough at the Electronic Entertainment Expo to come out with the Best of Show award.

"People practically stampeded to try it out - either that or they waited in line for hours," says GameSpot's Greg Kasavin, one of 37 judges for the awards. "Yet most of them seemingly still came away more excited than ever by Nintendo's weird, inspired vision for how gaming could be different."

That same theme carried over to Spore, a game that lets you create, well, everything, from its slimy, single-cell beginning to advanced space-farers by way of evolution and your creative input. Spore picked up not only the Best Original Game award, but also two more in the PC and Simulation categories.

"It's just not fair," says Chris Baker, of Wired magazine. "The other nominees in this category didn't stand a chance against the most ambitious sim ever conceived."

The other big game at this year's E3 was Microsoft's Gears of War. The game may be deep with Angry Bald Marines, but the spooky shooter managed to wow everyone who had a go.

The full list of winner of the Game Critics Awards is below:

• Best of Show: Wii (Nintendo)
• Best Original Game: Spore (EA for PC)
• Best Hardware/Peripheral: Wii (Nintendo)
• Best Console Game: Gears of War (Microsoft for Xbox 360)
• Best PC Game: Spore (EA for PC)
• Best Handheld Game: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo for DS)
• Best Action Game: Gears of War (Microsoft for Xbox 360)
• Best Action/Adventure Game: Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
• Best Role Playing Game: Mass Effect (Microsoft for Xbox 360)
• Best Racing Game: Excite Truck (Nintendo for Wii)
• Best Simulation Game: Spore (EA for PC)
• Best Sports Game: Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)
• Best Fighting Game: Heavenly Sword (Sony for PlayStation 3)
• Best Strategy Game: Supreme Commander (THQ for PC)
• Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlour Game: Guitar Hero 2 (Red Octane for PlayStation 2)
• Best Online Multiplayer: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Activision for PC)

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games