The rumor was true … Sony introduced the PS3 Slim at GamesCon in Cologne! The PS3 Slim is scheduled to go on sale worldwide during the first week of September (Sept. 1st in North America, Europe/PAL territories and Asia, and Sept. 3rd in Japan) and will retail for only $299/299 euros/29980 yen. It’ll feature a 120GB hard drive, a slimmer design that’s 33% smaller and 36% lighter, and all of the same core functionality of the current PS3. Sony also says it has been able to trim the power consumption by two-thirds, so the Slim will run cooler and quieter, too. There is only one thing missing … PS2 backwards compatibility, which Sony jettisoned after getting enough press touting the feature in the original to erase it as a question in casual shopper’s minds (sorry for the cynicism). But that wasn’t ALL Sony talked about …

Sony announced a multitude of updates today at Gamescom 2009 besides the PS3 slim. Here’s the highlight of the press conference:

• The PSN Video Store will be expanded to the UK, France, Germany and Spain in November. The European store will only include films at launch. However, local content including BBC programming is expected to be added at a later date.

• PSN cards will be made available in Europe beginning in September. Cards will be available in both 20 and 50 denominations.

• SCEE announced PS3 firmware 3.0 today. Firmware 3.0 is expected to be released soon and will include the following:

“What’s New” – The “Information Board” will be replaced with a “What’s New” section, which allows you to enjoy interactive PlayStation news every time you start the PS3 system. Located under the PlayStation Network icon, “What’s New” displays the latest and greatest game, video, PlayStation Network and PlayStation news and releases, as well as your recently played games, in a sleek, new animated format.

Status Indicator – In the top right corner we’ve added an indicator bar, which displays your user icon, friend icon, the number of friends you have online and a small message icon to let you know if you have any new messages. The indicator also includes a scrolling ticker that features the latest news from PlayStation Network. In addition, when you press the PS button, the battery life indicator will no longer cover up the clock.

Friends List – Now your PlayStation Network friends will appear in a slightly redesigned format on your Friends List. Also, messages will now be viewable from each of your friends’ respective profiles.

PlayStation Store Shortcuts – We’ve added a handy shortcut icon to the PlayStation Store under both the Game and Video categories so you can access the latest content quickly and easily.

Personalization – Personalize your PS3 with new dynamic custom themes and avatars. Dynamic themes as well as free and premium avatars will be available through PlayStation Store. A dynamic theme takes your screen to a whole new level as it incorporates animated objects into the background.

Trophies – Showcasing your hard earned trophies just got better. Update 3.00 gives game developers the ability to modify how they display trophies for add-on content. Base and add-on game trophies will continue to be combined into a single list so you can see where you stand in a game as a whole. Within that list, trophies will be broken out into subcategories—base trophies and add-on trophies—that way, you can easily view the percentage of your base game trophy collection, and separately track your trophy progress in add-on packs. Look for this enhancement to be included in upcoming games.

• Sony will launch an App Store for the PSP within the PSN Store beginning October 1st. Titles will be limited to 100MB in size, and will be dubbed “Minis.” EA Games has agreed to develop for the platform.

• Marvel and SCEE also announced today that a digital reader will be made available to PSP owners. Owners will be able to download hundreds of comics from Marvel’s collection. Pricing has not been made available.

• PlayStation Home will receive a substantial update soon that will include new spaces (including SingStar and Audi), new avatar animations and customizations.

Additionally, the following announcements regarding other PlayStation products were made:

• Gran Turismo PSP will be made available free for PSP Go owners who purchase their portable between October 1 and 10. PSP Go owners will need to register their portable with Sony to claim the download.

• Little Big Planet will get water in a future software update.

• Eyepet will ship this holiday in Europe, no date yet for North America as a bundle that will include the PS Eye camera. Price in Europe is €49.99.

• Eye of Judgement is coming to PSP (no word yet if it comes with a PSP camera).

• Europe gets new PSP colors including turquoise blue, lilac purple (same as North America’s Hannah Montana bundle) and blossom pink.

Thanks to jaw04005on the MacRumors Forums for the concise summary!

Image courtesy of TechTree