GC 2011: Your GamesCom 2011 diary. Right here.

By Tom Pakinkis for computerandvideogames.com

It may not quite match the madness of E3 but Germany's GamesCom can still send your head into a tailspin if you don't have your wits about you.

Don't worry though, we've compiled your diary for you and we'll be out there in the Cologne field throwing lumps of gaming goodness in your faces the whole time.

EA will be lowering the lights at 15:00 BST tomorrow (August 16) and inviting you to watch its Gamescom conference via its streaming player.

We already know what EA's going to be showing in Cologne though because, well, the publisher's been kind enough to tell us. Stand-out appearances will come via the BioWare doctors with Star Wars: The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3, DICE with Battlefield 3 and EA Sports' David Rutter with FIFA 12.

Need For Speed: The Run and SSX will also be shown off in Germany and you'll no doubt know that a Syndicate reveal is hotly tipped for the show as well.

Sony's press conference will follow soon after at 18:00 BST and there are hundreds of ways you can get the full experience sitting in your chair at home. Well, there are four actually. You watch on the EU PlayStation blog, via your PlayStation App on your phone or via a live video on the PlayStation Facebook page.

If you're feeling particularly new age though, or you just want to put PlayStation Home to good use for once, you can watch it on the big screen in Home's gamescom Space.

We're expecting to see more from the Vita as well as some new releases, and we could even see some PS3 hardware announcements considering Sony revealed a new SKU at GamesCom last year. We'll obviously be bringing a fifth option to the table with our own coverage right here on CVG complete with live blog, all the announcements and expert thoughts and exclusive insight.

Microsoft isn't holding a conference as such but it is instead presenting us with the quirky concept of a Play Day throughout tomorrow. All the biggest and best 360 and Kinect games will be available in Cologne and we'll obviously be playing them until they drag us back onto the plane and sending every bit of multimedia, opinion and analysis your way.

2K has also promised to bring Borderlands 2 to Germany and gone all out with its own presser being streamed live on ustream at 16:00BST on Friday (August 19).

Stay tuned. It's going to be a tornado of news, video and German sausages.