2005 Nominees

In 2005 the judges nominated 57 products from 27 publishers. Click here to read the nomination breakdown by publisher, platform and game.

Best of Show*
- F.E.A.R. (Monolith Productions/Vivendi Universal Games for PC)
- Gears of War
(Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studio fors Xbox 360)
- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo for GameCube)
- Xbox 360 (Microsoft)

* IMPORTANT NOTE ON HARDWARE ELIGIBILITY  *
Both the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution were ineligible for Best of Show because judges were not able to experience "hands-on" play with the systems at E3 2005.  PlayStation 3 was eligible for Best Hardware/Peripheral because real-time hardware demos were shown.

Best Original Game
- Indigo Prophecy (Quantic Dream/Atari for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
- Nintendogs (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
- Okami (Clover Studios/Capcom for PlayStation 2)
- Shadow of the Colossus (SCEI/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)

Best PC Game
- Age of Empires III (Ensemble Studios/Microsoft Games Studios for PC)
- Battlefield 2 (Digital Illusions/Electronic Arts for PC)
- F.E.A.R. (Monolith Productions/Vivendi Universal Games for PC)
- Prey (HumanHead/3D Realms/2K Games for PC)
-
Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)

Best Console Game
- Black (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2, Xbox)
- Gears of War (Epic Games/Microsoft Games Studios for Xbox 360)
- Okami (Clover Studios/Capcom for PlayStation 2)
- Peter Jackson's King Kong (UbiSoft for All Platforms)
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks for PC / Xbox 360)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
(Nintendo for GameCube)

Best Handheld Game
- Burnout Legends (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts for PSP)
- Death, Jr. (Foundation 9/Konami for PSP)
-
Infected (Planet Moon Studios/Majesco Games for PSP)
- Mario Kart DS
(Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
- Nintendogs
(Nintendo for Nintendo DS)

Best Peripheral / Hardware
- Game Boy Micro (Nintendo)
- Gizmondo (Tiger Telematics)
- Logitech Cordless Attack & Cordless Precision Controllers (Logitech)
- PlayStation 3
(Sony Computer Entertainment -- Nvidia RSX / CELL Processor)
- Xbox 360 (Microsoft)

Best Action Game
- Battlefield 2 (Digital Illusions/EA for PC)
- Black (Criterion Games/EA for PS2, Xbox)
- Call of Duty 2 (Infinity Ward/Activision for PC, Xbox 360)
- F.E.A.R. (Monolith Productions/Vivendi Universal Games for PC)
- Gears of War
(Epic Games/Microsoft for Xbox 360)

Best Action/Adventure Game
- Okami
(Clover Studios/Capcom for PlayStation 2)
- Peter Jackson's King Kong
(UbiSoft for All Platforms)
- Shadow of the Colossus  (SCEI/SCEA for PlayStation 2)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess  (Nintendo for GameCube)
- Ultimate Spider-Man
(Treyarch/Activision for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox)

Best Fighting Game
- Marvel Nemesis (Nihilistic/Electronic Arts for GameCube/PlayStation 2/Xbox/PSP)
- Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
(Paradox/Midway Games for PlayStation 2/Xbox)
- One Piece: Grand Battle
(Ganbarion/Bandai for GameCube/PlayStation 2)
- Soul Calibur III (Namco for PlayStation 2)
- The Con (Think and Feel/Sony for PSP)

Best Role Playing Game
- City of Villians (Cryptic Studios/NC Soft for PC)
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
(Level 5/Square-Enix for PS2)
- Hellgate: London
(Flagship Studios/Namco for PC)
- Kingdom Hearts II
(Square-Enix for PS2)
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Software for PC / Xbox 360)

Best Racing Game
- Burnout Legends (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts for PSP)
- Burnout Revenge (Criterion Games/Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2/Xbox)
- Full Auto
(Pseudo Interactive/Sega for Xbox 360)
- Mario Kart DS
(Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
- Need for Speed Most Wanted
(Electronic Arts for All Platforms)

Best Simulation Game
- Nintendogs (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
- Sims 2 (Electronic Arts for All Consoles)
- Spore (Electronic Arts for PC)
- The Movies
(Lionhead Studios/Activision for PC)
- Trauma Center: Under the Knife (Atlus Co. for Nintendo DS)

Best Sports Game

- Blitz: The League
(Midway for PS2/Xbox)
-
Madden NFL 06 (EA Sports/Electronic Arts for All Platforms)
- Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland
(Neversoft/Activision for All Platforms)
- Top Spin 2 (2K Sports for Xbox 360)
- Virtua Tennis: World Tour
(Sega for PSP)

Best Strategy Game
- Age of Empires III
(Ensemble Studios/Microsoft for PC)
- Civilization IV
(Firaxis Games/2K Games for PC)
- Company of Heroes
(Relic/THQ for PC)
- Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends (Big Huge Games/Microsoft for PC)
- Star Wars: Empire At War (Petroglyph/LucasArts for PC)

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game
- EyeToy: Kinetic (SCEE London Studio/SCEE for PS2)
- Mario Party 7 (Hudson/Nintendo for GameCube)
- Meteos (Q Entertainment/Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
- We Love Katamari (Namco for PS2)
- Yoot Saito's Odama
(Vivarium/Nintendo for GameCube)

Best Online Multiplayer Game
- Battlefield 2
(Digital Illusions/Electronic Arts for PC)
- City of Villians (Cryptic Studios/NCSoft for PC)
- SOCOM 3: U.S. NAVY SEALs (Zipper Interactive/SCEA for PS2)
- Star Wars
Battlefront II (Pandemic Studios/LucasArts for PC, PS2, Xbox)
- Tabula Rasa
(Destination Games/NCSoft for PC)