The winners for this year’s E3 Game Critics Awards — a group of awards voted on by representatives from over 30 of gaming’s most esteemed publications — has been announced, with Rage garnering the most prizes with three wins. The Nintendo 3DS captured the ‘Best of Show’ award.

E3 Game Critics Awards nominees announced, Rage leads the pack

UPDATE: The winners have been picked, and have been marked with bold text. Just as it did with nominations, Rage led the E3 crop with three awards. One of them was for “Special Commendation for Graphics,” a prize that is not included in the nomination process, but is awarded when enough of the judges pick the same game as the best in the field of graphics, sound, and innovation. Dance Central, Portal 2, and the Nintendo 3DS (winner of the ‘Best of Show’) were the other products to score multiple awards, with two each. For a more detailed breakdown of the awards, including wins by publisher and console, check out the Fast Facts section of the Game Critics Awards website.

ORIGINAL TEXT: Trailing slightly behind Rage were Dance Central, Disney’s Epic Mickey and Portal 2 with four nominees, while Star Wars: The Old Republic and Rock Band 3 garnered three noms. The GCA has also added a new category for 2010 — the ‘Best Motion Simulation Game’ award, meant to honor games that make the best use of products like the Wii, PlayStation Move, and Microsoft Kinect. For more information on the nominees, check out the GCA’s nominee stat page.

The entire nomination list is below, with the winners to be announced in one week’s time on July 6. Which games do you hope win? Which nominations surprised you the most?

Best of Show
- Dance Central
- Disney’s Epic Mickey
- Nintendo 3DS

- Portal 2
- Rage

Best Original Game
- Bulletstorm
- Child of Eden
- Dance Central

- Disney’s Epic Mickey
- Rage

Best Console Game
- Disney’s Epic Mickey
- InFamous 2
- Kirby’s Epic Yarn
- Portal 2
- Rage

Best Handheld Game
- Ghost Trick
- God of War: Ghost of Sparta

- Okamiden
- Super Scribblenauts
- Valkyria Chronicles 2

Best PC Game
- Civilization V

- Crysis 2

- Portal 2

- Rage
- Star Wars: The Old Republic

Best Hardware

- Kinect
- Move

- Nintendo 3DS

- Rock Band 3 Pro Guitars

- Rock Band 3 Keyboard

Best Action Game

- Bulletstorm
- Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Gears of War 3
- Halo: Reach
- Rage

Best Action/Adventure Game
- Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
- Dead Space 2
- Disney’s Epic Mickey
- Portal 2

- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Best Role Playing Game

- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Fable III
- Fallout: New Vegas

- Star Wars: The Old Republic

- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

<p>Best Racing Game

- Gran Turismo 5
- MotorStorm: Apolcalypse

- Need for Speed Hot Pursuit

- Test Drive Unlimited 2

Best Fighting Game

- Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

- Mortal Kombat
- WWE All Stars

Best Sports Game

- EA Sports MMA
- Madden NFL 11
- NBA Jam

- NCAA Football 11
- NHL 11

Best Strategy Game

- Civilization V

- Company of Heroes Online
- End of Nations
- Shogun 2: Total War

Best Social/Casual Game

- Dance Central
- DJ Hero 2
- Kinect Adventures
- Rock Band 3

Best Motion Simulation Game
- Child of Eden

- Dance Central

- Socom 4
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

Best Online Multiplayer Game

- Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

- Gears of War 3
- Halo Reach
- Medal of Honor
- Star Wars: The Old Republic

Special Commendation for Graphics


- Rage