Game Critics on Wednesday voted Nintendo's new Wii console as the Best of Show for E3 2006. In addition, Wii was named Best Hardware / Peripheral and Wii Sports nabbed Best Sports Game.

Game Critics Awards are presented by an independent group of journalists from 37 media outlets that cover the video game industry.

The innovative new Wii stole the show from rival offerings like the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 with a new remote controller and an assortment of game offerings.

The Wii remote will be able to detect player gestures and translate them into controls for video games. Rather than press a button to swing a baseaball bat, players can hold the controller and swing to perform the action.

Wii will be the least expensive console on the market when it drops to retail in the fourth quarter of 2006. Game development for the platform is also expected to be significantly less than other systems.

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