Recently announced during Gamescon 2009 in Cologne, Germany, and confirmed on the Sony PlayStation blogs, Sony Home will have a major overhaul with the release of version 1.3 in September 2009 with tons of updates and much welcomed additions to make the experience more fun.

Konami was among the many major game developers/publishers that decided Cologne, Germany was the place to be this week. The company showed up with multiple games in tow, in a display that quite possibly rivaled their presense at E3 2009. The bulk of the games were titles the public had already heard about at the prior convention, though now new information was available, as were playable demos.

The wide selection of games seems to know no genre or platform limitations. Konami is showing off console, handheld, cell phone, iPhone and PC games. There are games for families, casual players and hardcore gamers represented in the batch.

Let’s take a look at the new game information and appearances, in tidy bulleted list form…

There has been a serious information explosion from Sony at GamesCom 2009 today, which rivals, and perhaps even puts to shame, the E3 2009 Sony press conference. After comparing the announcements, I’m definitely feeling more excited now.

The main announcement was the confirmation of a $299 slimmer PS3 that comes packaged with a 120 GB hard drive. The new version of the system will debut September, 2009. All existing PS3 models will experience a $100 price drop and will also cost $299 starting August 19, 2009. The new PS3 slim is 2/3 the size of the original PS3, and also uses 2/3 the power of the original PS3. It also comes with system software 3.00, has the Bravia Sync feature which lets you use a remote control, comes with a vertical stand and doesn’t allow other operating systems to be installed on it.

In preparation for GamesCom 2009, BioWare and EA have let loose quite a bit of Mass Effect 2 information. We not only are finding out about the PC and Xbox 360 game’s storyline, but we also get to see a brand new trailer.

Once again, Commander Shepard is the hero/heroine of Mass Effect 2. Humans are now an endangered species, and it’s up to Shepard and his crew, which the player will hand select, to take part in what’s being called a suicide mission to find out why humans are disappearing and what can be done to stop it. Players get to choose from a wide variety of potential squad members. The first one revealed was Thane the assassin. The trailer released unveiled the second potential member, Grunt the Krogan.

Here’s the Grunt-centric Mass Effect 2 trailer that has been unveiled for GamesCom 2009. Let’s take a look…

EA is also among the major companies ready to step up and support GamesCom 2009. And the company’s going to be putting on quite a show. It is bringing 42 games across all platforms to display, including the iPhone.

There are a number of highlights to check out, from the extraordinary amount of games being displayed, to a special press conference (which you can watch online via live stream), an exclusive closed door area with special games being shown, a booth set up just for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and the demo debut of Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Let’s look at the list of games EA is bringing along, in some shape or form, in alphabetical order…

Back when Gamertell revealed Capcom’s official announcement concerning Monster Hunter Tri‘s worldwide release, it was mentioned that the English version of the Wii game would be at GamesCom 2009. Now, Capcom has made an announcement concerning what other games will be joining Monster Hunter Tri at the August 19-23, 2009 convention.

Capcom’s going to be using GamesCom to be showing off some of its prominent, forthcoming console and PC titles. Dark Void (PS3, Xbox 360, PC), Lost Planet 2 (PS3, Xbox 360), Monster Hunter Tri (Wii), MotoGP 09/10 (Xbox 360), Spyborgs (Wii), Resident Evil 5 (PC) and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars (Wii) will all be shown at the event. Dark Void and MotoGP 09/10 are both confirmed to be playable at the event, and the other titles may be as well…

Ankama, the force behind DOFUS, Wakfu and Dofus-Arena have decided to fully support GamesCom 2009 by attending the August 19-23, 2009 convention in Cologne, Germany. And when I say fully support, I mean fully support. There will be giveaways, playable games, Wakfu episodes in English and a special press conference at 6pm on August 19. The company has even set up a webpage to advertise and announce the fact that it will be gladly appearing at the event, and direct attendees to stand B40 in Hall 6, where Ankama will be waiting.

The press conference will probably be of most interest, as it is going to discuss the company’s newest games. For example, DOFUS 2.0 and Islands of Wakfu are on the schedule…

Capcom’s formally announced what many of us already knew thanks to the company’s May investor briefing – Monster Hunter Tri, aka Monster Hunter 3, is going to be released outside of Japan. The game just came out August 1, 2009 in Japan, but residents of North America and Europe will have to wait until the beginning of 2010 for their copies. Since the investor briefing stated it’d be out before the end of the 2009 Fiscal Year, there’s a good chance we’ll see it before the end of March, 2010.

Monster Hunter Tri is a Wii exclusive, designed specifically for the system. It introduces new monsters to hunt, utilizes the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for multiplayer, allows players to hunt underwater…

Square Enix, which also includes Eidos now ya’ know, has decided to let the world know what games the company will be showing off when it attends Gamescom 2009 in Cologne, Germany on August 19-23, 2009. It’s a rather predictiable lineup, as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts games will be there, as well as Batman: Arkham Asylum and Mini Ninjas.

If Gamescom sounds unfamiliar to you, it’s because it’s a new entertainment and games trade fair being held in Europe and supported by the German Trade Association of Interactive Entertainment Software, and the European Game Developers Conference is going to coincide with the event, taking place August 17-19, 2009. Square Enix is already stepping up to offer support by declaring it’s attending…