Gli organizzatori dell'E3 hanno annunciato le nominations dei Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2006, gli oscar dei videogiochi nei quali saranno premiati i migliori giochi mostrati durante l'evento. Domina la lista Gears of War, con 5 nominations in vari generi, seguito per quanto riguarda i giochi previsti su Xbox 360 da Assassin's Creed*, Bioshock (4 nominations ciascuno) e Mass Effect (2 nominations).

Di seguito l'elenco completo delle nomine, con i giochi Xbox 360 evidenziati in grassetto, in attesa della comunicazione dei vincitori prevista per la prossima settimana.

Best of Show
- Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)
- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
- Wii (Nintendo)

Best Original Game
- Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC/Xbox 360)
- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
- LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
- Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)

Best PC Game
- Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts for PC)
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)
- Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/Namco Bandai Games for PC)
- Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC)
- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)

Best Console Game
- Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)
- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios for Xbox 360)
- Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
- Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Handheld Game
- Elite Beat Agents (Inis/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
- Killzone: Liberation (Guerrilla/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
- LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
- Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Kojima Productions/Konami for PSP)
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)

Best Hardware
- DS Lite (Nintendo)
- Logitech G25 Racing Wheel (Logitech for PC)
- PlayStation 3 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Wii (Nintendo)
- Xbox 360 Wireless Headset (Microsoft for Xbox 360)

Best Action Game
- Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts for PC)
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)
- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios for Xbox 360)
- Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Capcom for Xbox 360)
- Resistance: Fall of Man (Insomniac/SCEA for PlayStation 3)

Best Action/Adventure Game
- Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PlayStation 3)
- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC and Xbox 360)
- God of War 2 (Sony Santa Monica/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
- Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess  (Nintendo for GameCube/Wii)

Best Fighting Game
- Heavenly Sword (Ninja Theory/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)
- Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway Games for PlayStation 2/Xbox)
- Tekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco Bandai Games for PSP)
- Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega for Arcade/PlayStation 3)
- WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2007 (Yuke’s/THQ for 360/PS3/PS2/PSP)

Best Role Playing Game
- Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix for PlayStation 2)
- Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/Namco Bandai Games for PC)
- Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
- Neverwinter Nights 2 (Obsidian/Atari for PC)
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard for PC)

Best Racing Game
- Excite Truck (Nintendo for Wii)
- Formula One 06 (Studio Liverpool/SCEE for PlayStation 3)
- Gran Turismo HD (Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment for PS3)
- MotoGP 06 (Climax/THQ for Xbox 360)
- Test Drive Unlimited (Eden Studios/Atari for Xbox 360, PC, PS2, PSP)

Best Simulation Game
- Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Microsoft Games Studio for PC)
- Sid Meier’s Railroads! (Firaxis Games/2K Games for PC)
- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
- The Movies: Stunts and Effects (Lionhead Studios/Activision for PC)
- Wii Music Orchestra (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Sports Game
- Madden NFL 07 (Tiburon/EA for PS3 / Xbox 360)
- Madden NFL 07 (Tiburon/EA for Nintendo Wii)
- NBA 2K7 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports for Xbox 360)
- NCAA Football 07 (EA Tiburon/Electronic Arts for X360/PS2/Xbox/PSP)
- Wii Sports (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Strategy Game
- Company of Heroes (Relic/THQ for PC)
- Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II (EA for X360)
- Medieval 2: Total War (Creative Assembly/Sega for PC)
- Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games/THQ for PC)
- World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment/Sierra for PC)

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game
- Elite Beat Agents (Inis/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
- Guitar Hero 2 (Harmonix/Red Octane for PlayStation 2)
- LocoRoco (SCEJ/Sony Computer Entertainment for PSP)
- Lumines II (Q Entertainment/Buena Vista Games for PSP)
- WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo for Wii)

Best Online Multiplayer Game
- Battlefield 2142 (Digital Illusions/Electronic Arts for PC)
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision for PC)
- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
- Huxley (Webzen for PC/Xbox 360)
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Blizzard for PC)

* Pur essendo menzionato nella lista come titolo PS3, Assassin's Creed è in sviluppo anche su Xbox 360.