It feels like only yesterday, we were all speculating about what’s to come at the biggest gaming expo of the year. Even though many things were leaked, I think very few people expected such a spectacular showing from the heavy hitters. I mean seriously, we got the holy trifecta of Shenmue 3, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and The Last Guardian all in one conference, not to mention Fallout 4, Gears of War 4, Halo 5, Doom, and Uncharted 4. To put it simply: this year was filled to the brim with mind-numbing announcements.
Speaking of all these fantastic titles, the coveted Game Critics Awards votes are in, with very few surprises to speak of. So without further adieu, the votes have been tallied and logged, so let’s get this party started.
First of all, Sony comes out as the big winner with Uncharted 4, No Man’s Sky (PS4 timed exclusive), and Horizon Zero Dawn impressing the judges. Naughty Dog’s upcoming title in particular did extremely well by claiming 2 awards including: Best Console Game, Best Action/Adventure Game, and also garnering special commendations for graphics.
But to no one’s surprise, Fallout 4 won the Best of the Show award. Star Wars Battlefront also did very well, and from the short time I had with it, I can tell you it’s a whole lot of fun, so this is well deserved. You can check out the complete list of winners in the list below.
Best of Show:Â Fallout 4
(Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Original Game:Â Horizon Zero Dawn
(Guerrilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 4)
Best Console Game:Â Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertianment for PlayStation 4)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game:Â The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
(Nintendo for 3DS)
Best PC Game:Â Fallout 4
(Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Hardware/Peripheral:Â Oculus Touch
(Oculus VR)
Best Action Game:Â Star Wars Battlefront
(DICE/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Action/Adventure Game:Â Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 4)
Best Role Playing Game:Â Fallout 4
(Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Racing Game:Â Need for Speed
(Ghost Games/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Sports Game:Â FIFA 16
(EA Canada/EA Sports for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Family/Social Game:Â Super Mario Maker
(Nintendo EAD/Nintendo for Wii U)
Best Online Multiplayer:Â Star Wars Battlefront
(DICE/EA for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
Best Independent Game:Â No Man’s Sky
(Hello Games for PC, PlayStation 4)
Special Commendation for Graphics:Â Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
(Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 4)
Breaking it down by how many wins each publisher received will also give you a glimpse at how well each company did. Sony Computer Entertainment won 5 awards, EA won 4, Bethesda Game Studios won 3, Nintendo won 2, and Oculus won 1. Despite having an excellent conference, Microsoft’s games didn’t win any of the awards they were up for. To be fair, most of their showings were games we already knew about and had seen. Even Nintendo, who ranked on the lower spectrum of most folks’ conference rankings, accumulated 2 awards.
What do you think about these chosen winners? Do you agree or disagree? Make sure to let us know in the comments section below. Let’s be honest, the winners this year were the gamers. So many vidya gamez.