MTV Multiplayer writes: "Japanese game developers, arguably the most influential video game creation community in history, are on the verge of nearly being shut out at this year"s E3 Games Critics Awards.

The list of 71 nominations for this year"s awards lists only 12 nods to the work of Japanese creators, few of which are likely to take top honors when the winners are announced in the coming days.

The 12 nominees includes multiple nominations for "Resident Evil 5" and a heavy Japanese presence in two categories: three of four nominated best fighting games ("Soul Calibur IV" and two versions of "Street Fighter") as well as two of three nominated best new pieces of hardware (Wii MotionPlus and the "Lips" microphone)."