Sony is expected to announce the release date of the Playstation 4, as well as launch plans and new game titles at today's press conference at Sony Gamescom 2013 in Cologne, Germany.

Europe's biggest gaming convention began at 3 p.m. (BST) / 7 a.m. (PDT) / 10 a.m. (EDT). There will be a live stream of the conference on Playstation Universe's website. Although the press conference begins today, public access to Gamescom does not begin until Aug. 20 and lasts until Aug. 25.

Sony will also announce plans for the PS3 and PS Vita. Rumors have it that both the PS3 and PS Vita are being redesigned, and that a PS4 and PS Vita bundle is going to be an option for prospective buyers.

Gamers are also expecting the announcement of some new PS4 game titles, as well as titles for the PS3 and PS Vita.  According to IGN, upcoming games for the PS4 include additions to popular franchises such as Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts III, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Killzone: Shadowfall.

The release date of the PS4 is sure to affect the longstanding competition between Sony and Microsoft, creator of the soon-to-be-released Xbox One.

Microsoft is not likely to announce Xbox One's release date at Gamescom. Microsoft will not be holding a public press conference in an effort to avoid jeers and criticisms.

Some gamers think this move makes Microsoft look bad.

"Shuttering the conference to a close-doors affair with no live-stream is a huge step in the wrong direction and sends the continued message that Microsoft is neither confident nor concerned enough with the community to properly sell gamers on the idea of the Xbox One without coming off as if the agenda is 100 percent related to controlling the market rather than bringing a viable media platform to consumers," William Usher of Cinema Blend said. "...who cares if the Gamescom crowd would boo out the Xbox One like at EVO 2013? They need to win back the gamers."

Microsoft is trying a different approach to keeping people engaged at Gamescom.

"...most of the time will be spent with the press getting time with the developers, with their games," Phil Spencer, Microsoft Studio's corporate vice president, said. "We think that these platforms are about the games, and we want to give the press time with the games."

 PS4 was revealed in Feb. It has been priced at $399. Xbox One will cost $499.