Here Are The Game Critics E3 Award Nominees

A panel of game critics from across the industry are weighing in on their favorite games from E3 2015. Award winners will be announced on July 7.  Here is the complete list of nominees:

Best of Show

• Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
• Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/SCE)
• Oculus Touch (Oculus VR)
• Star Wars Battlefront (DICE/EA)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog/SCE)

Best Original Game

• Abzu (Giant Squid/505 Games)
• Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
• Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/SCE)
• The Last Guardian (GenDesign/SCE Japan/SCE)
• Unravel (Coldwood Interactive/EA)

Best Console Game

• Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
• Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/SCE)
• Star Wars Battlefront (DICE/EA)
• Super Mario Maker (Nintendo)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog/SCE)

Best Handheld Game

• Fallout Shelter (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
• Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (AlphaDream/Nintendo)
• Persona 4 Dancing All Night (Atlus)
• The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes (Nintendo)

Best Independent Game

• Abzu (Giant Squid/505)
• Below (Capy Games)
• Cuphead (Studio MDHR)
• No Man's Sky (Hello Games/SCE)
• Wattam (Funomena)

Best PC Game

• DOOM (id Software/Bethesda)
• Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
• Just Cause 3 (Avalanche Studios/Square-Enix)
• Star Wars Battlefront (DICE/EA)
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Best Hardware

• Microsoft HoloLens (Microsoft)
• Oculus Rift (Oculus VR)
• Oculus Touch (Oculus VR)
• Project Morpheus (Sony Computer Entertainment)
• Xbox Elite Wireless Controller (Microsoft)

Best Action Game

• DOOM (id Software/Bethesda)
• Halo 5: Guardians (343/Microsoft Studios)
• Just Cause 3 (Avalanche Studios/Square-Enix)
• Star Wars Battlefront (DICE/EA)
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Best Action/Adventure Game

• Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games/SCE)
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (Kojima Productions/Konami)
• Rise of the Tomb Raider (Crystal Dynamics/Microsoft Studios)
• The Last Guardian (GenDesign/SCE Japan/SCE)
• Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (Naughty Dog/SCE)

Best RPG

• Dark Souls 3 (From Software/Bandai-Namco Games)
• Fallout 4 (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
• Fire Emblem Fates (Intelligent Systems/Nintendo)
• Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (AlphaDream/Nintendo)
• Sword Coast Legends (n-Space/Digital Extremes/Wizards of the Coast)

Best Racing Game

• Forza Motorsport 6 (Turn 10/Microsoft Studios)
• Need for Speed (Ghost Games/EA)
• Trackmania Turbo (Nadeo/Ubisoft)

Best Sports Game

• FIFA 16 (EA Canada/EA)
• NHL 16 (EA Canada/EA)
• Madden NFL 16 (EA Tiburon/EA)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 (Konami)
• Rory McIlroy PGA Tour (EA Tiburon/EA)

Best Family/Social Game

• Disney Infinity 3.0 (Avalanche Software/Disney Interactive)
• Guitar Hero Live (FreeStyleGames/Activision)
• LEGO Dimensions (TT Games/WBIE)
• Rock Band 4 (Harmonix)
• Super Mario Maker (Nintendo)

Best Online Multiplayer

• Call of Duty: Black Ops III (TreyArch/Activision)
• Halo 5: Guardians (343/Microsoft Studios)
• Star Wars Battlefront (DICE/EA)
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
• Tom Clancy's The Division (Massive/Ubisoft)

Microsoft Assures The Kinect Is Alive And Well

Microsoft talked a lot about the future go the XboxOne at this years E3, but dos the future include there motion sensing peripheral Kinect ? Some fans might be wondering how committed Microsoft is to the Kinect considering they didn’t talk about it at the year's biggest gaming show. Xbox executive Aaron Greenberg has spoken out to assure fans that Kinect is here to stay. "We are absolutely continuing to support Kinect," Greenberg told GameSpot this week at E3. "We really want Kinect to be a choice for customers. For me, I love it; I turn my Xbox One with Kinect; I use it for entertainment; I use it to do screenshots and all that," he said. "I like to be able to have my hands on the controller and use voice commands. But, frankly, a lot of people also want a better value and don't want to have to pay for it. So we're not going to force people to do that. We give people the choice." Do you have an Xbox One ? Do you use Kinect with it ? 

Nintendo President Of America Says Current VR Tech Isn’t Fun

VR will play a big part in the future of gaming as we see with Microsofts HoloLens and Sony’s Project Morpheus. But the third console, Nintendo, doesn't have a VR headset, so whats there opinion on VR ? In an interview with Polygon, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says the current state of virtual reality is "not fun" or social, two requirements that need to be met before Nintendo gets onboard. "We have knowledge of the technical space, and we've been experimenting with this for a long, long time," Fils-Aime said. "What we believe is that, in order for this technology to move forward, you need to make it fun and you need to make it social." "I haven't walked the floor, so I can't say in terms of what's on the floor today, but at least based on what I've seen to date, it's not fun, and it's not social. It's just tech." Could this be just a cover up of the fact that a VR headset couldn’t run on the Wii U ? Don’t get me wrong I love my Wii U, But that doesn’t change that fact thats its under powered compared to its competitors. 

Hitman Devs Believes Season Passes Aren’t Good For Gamers

The season pass has become a part of video games industry for the past few years. Thought not everyone is on board with this trend, Hitman developer IO Interactive believes that this isn't the right way to go about selling extra content. In an interview with VideoGamer.com, Hannes Seifert explained that IO is trying to do something different to encourage players to buy its games. "We think it's wrong to approach players like that because players want to be part of that experience but they don't necessarily want to be ripped off," Seifert said. "What we're going to sell is all of that but it's for a one-price package." Hitman will launch digitally first on December 8 for PS4, PC and Xbox One, and later on disk with additional Hitman content.

Sony Focused On New Experiences, Not backward compatibility

As we know Microsoft announced Xbox One backward compatibility support for Xbox 360 titles. Now we are wondering whats Sonys responds to the news. In a Polygon interview with the President of Sony's Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida has responded to the news, calling it "interesting," and stating that the company has no immediate plans to offer native backward compatibility onPlayStation 4. "The technology involved must be very challenging," The PS4 does offer some kind of backward compatibility by way of PlayStation Now. However, this is a paid streaming service. But could the PS4 ever offer a native backward compatibility solution? "I don't think we will change our approach," Yoshida said. "The PlayStation 4 doesn't have backward compatibility." He went on to say that Sony will instead focus on building new features and services for the PS4. But Sony hasn't ruled out native backward compatibility entirely. "Backward compatibility is hard," Yoshida explained. "I won't say we'll never do it, but it's not an easy thing to do. If it was easy we would have done that." What do you think of this news ? What do you think of Sony’s solution to backward compatibility, PlayStation Now ? 

Microsoft Wants To Know What Games To Make Backwards Compatible

We learned during Microsoft’s E3 press conference that backwards compatibility is coming to Xbox One. This will allow players to begin playing their Xbox 360 games on the new console. It should be noted that he functionality is not going to be available for every title in the Xbox 360 catalog. Before finalizing the selection of games, Microsoft wants to know which games you’d like to see make their way to Xbox One. Microsoft has already announced a list of titles that will be backwards compatibility (which you can see below), and are already available in testing for Xbox Preview members, including such titles as Mass Effect and Super Meat Boy. You can head over to the survey and cast your vote on what games you’d like to see. 

• Banjo Kazooie: N n B
• Banjo-Kazooie
• Banjo-Tooie
• BattleBlock Theater
• Defense Grid
• Geometry Wars Evolved
• Hexic HD
• Jetpac Refuelled
• Kameo
• Mass Effect
• Perfect Dark
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Small Arms
• Super Meat Boy
• Toy Soldiers
• Toy Soldiers: Cold War
• Viva Piñata
• Viva Piñata: TIP

The World Of Tangled Gets Added To Kingdom Hearts 3, Kingdom Hearts Unchained Coming To Mobile

Square Enix gave us a new look at Kingdom Hearts 3 that includes a number of new enemies and traversal elements. The video also shows a number of summons and different transformations for the keyblade. We see Sora transform it into a pair of firearms and an enormous sword. We see new team-up attacks, combining Sora, Donald, and Goofy into a coordinated assault. Disney and Square Enix announced that Tangled will be added to the game as a world to explore. Kingdom Hearts 3 still doesn’t have a release date, the game will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Square Enix also announced a new dedicated Kingdom Hearts mobile game.The trailer for the game showed familiar enemies and you can explore familiar Disney worlds. The game will be coming to iOS and Android. 

Xbox One Getting A New Interface This Fall

Microsoft has announced some good news, Xbox One is getting revamped into a faster, sleeker interface this fall. In the video, Richard Irving of the Xbox engineering team chats with Microsoft's Larry Hyrb about some of the changes and improvements you can expect. You can watch the video below.

Final Fantasy VII PC Port Still Coming To PS4, Now iOS

As we know Square Enix made the big announcement that Final Fantasy VII Remake is coming to the PS4. Now Square Enix is remining us that the PC version of FF VII is still coming to the PS4. Why though ? The PC version for PS4 is coming this winter and a iOS version is also coming by the end of this summer As for FF VII Remake, Square Enix also said well get more info this winter.

Super Mario Maker Coming This September

During Nintendo’s E3 press conference, we got another look at how players can make there own Mario levels later in the year. We were able to see how Amiibo figures will be integrated with the game. Players can unleash a Mystery Mushroom that, when collected, activates Costume Mario. He'll transform into another character via tapping an Amiibo. The title is also being released alongside a special Amiibo. This year is Mario's 30th Anniversary, so Nintendo is releasing a blocky 8-bit version of its most popular hero. When used, this will make Mario grow a few feet.  Super Mario Maker will be out on September 11, 2015 for Wii U.

Mario And Company Are Heading Back To The Tennis Court In Mario Tennis Ultra Smash

During Nintendo’s E3 press conference, Nintendo announced that 

Mario and friends are handing back to the tennis court in Mario Tennis Ultra Smash. Not much details are available at this time, all that we know is that Mario Tennis Ultra Smash. will be out this holiday for Wii U.

Nintendo Annoucnes New Animal Crossing’s For 3DS And Wii U Along With New Amiibo’s

During Nintendo’s E3 press conference, Nintendo confirmed that Animal Crossing is coming to Wii U. Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival is a party game with a board game feel to it. Players travel around the village, landing on spaces, and encountering Animal Crossing events. You might encounter Joan selling turnips or a fishing competition. 4 Amiibo figures were announced alongside it: Isabelle, Tom Nook, KC Slider, and Mabel. The game will be out this holiday season. In other Animal Crossing news, Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer will be out on September 25, 2015 on the 3DS. Chack out the gameplay trailers for both games below. 

Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem Get A Release Window

During Nintendo’s E3 press conference, Nintendo has giving  Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem a release window of 2016. No other info is known at this time. Check out the gameplay trailer below. 

Xenoblade Chronicles X Finally Gets A Release Date For The US

During Nintendo’s E3 press conference, Nintendo finally gave us a releae date for Xenoblade Chronicles X in the states. Nintendo also shared a new trailer featuring a healthy dose of gameplay of the beautiful world, and the mechs, can’t forget about those sweet mechs. Xenoblade Chronicles X will be released on December 4 for Wii U.

Hyrule Warriors Legends Coming To 3DS In 2016

During Nintendo’s E3 press conference, Nintendo confirmed the handheld version of Hyrule Warriors, titled Hyrule Warriors Legends, will be coming to the states. The title includes everything found in the Wii U version, including all released DLC. As we already learned for the leak last week the 3DS version will include both Tetra and the King of Red Lions from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Hyrule Warriors Legends will be coming in the first quarter of 2016.

Metroid Primes Federation Force Coming To 3DS In 2016

During Nintendo’s E3 press conference, Nintendo announced a new Metroid Prime game for 3DS. No its no the Metroid Prime you’re thinking of. Metroid Prime Federation Force will  feature 4 player co-op set in the Metroid Prime universe. It also includes a 3 versus 3 minigame called Metroid Prime Blast Ball which we saw being played during the Nintendo World Championships. Check out the trailer for game below. The game will be release in 2016 for 3DS. 

Nintendo Bringing Exclusive Amiibo Characters To Skylanders Superchargers For Wii U

During Nintendo’s E3 press conference, Nintendo and Activsion are joining forces this year in the new Skylanders game. The game will incorporate Amiibo support for 4 figures designed specifically for the game. There will be 2 characters and 2 vehicles, keeping in line with the Skylanders Superchargers theme. Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and his Battle Baster and Hammer Slam Bowser and his Clown Cruiser will be available this fall for use in Skylanders Superchargers. Donkey Kong and Bowser will function as regular Amiibo or as Skylanders by twisting their bases to the correct setting. To see them in action check out the trailer below. Skylanders Superchargers will be out on September 20 for all platforms. I never thought I'd see the day where this would happen but here we are. What do you think of this news ? 

Star Fox Zero Coming To Wii U This Holiday

Today Nintendo started out there E3 press conference by showing off the new Star Fox game called Star Fox Zero. The major changes in this Star Fox is that you'll need to split your attention between the television and the gamepad. As you use the gamepad for fine aiming in a cockpit view. You'll also be able to transform into a Walker which allows you to take the fight to ground based enemies. Star Fox Zero is coming this Hoilday for Wii U

Uncharted 4 Gets New Gameplay Trailer

During PlayStation’s E3 press conference, Naughty Dog showed off some new Uncharted 4 gameplay. Drake and Sully get into a firefight featuring explosions, gunfire, and plenty of hiding under destructible cover (what else is new). Drake and Sully hop into a car and begin driving under heavy fire, going down back alleys and offstreets in an attempt to dodge deadly enemy vehicles. Check out the trailer below to see the trailer. Uncharted 4 will be released in Spring of 2016 on PS4.

Firewatch Is Coming To PlayStation 4

During PlayStation’s E3 press conference, Firewatch will make its console debut on PlayStation 4. In Firewatch, you explore the wilderness with only one connection to the outside world: Your supervisor, who you talks to you via radio. check out the trailer below.