Every week we do a quick wrap-up of some news items that may have slipped through the cracks. The wrap-ups will be shorter versions of our articles, lumped together to give you an idea of things you may have missed.

Games Convention Comes to Canada

With this year’s Games Convention now in the past, we are looking towards future trade shows and expos. However, taking the wind out of the sails of E for All and Tokyo Game Show was the fact that the organizers for GC were already talking about their North American branch and how the show they organize for the continent may end up in Canada instead of the US. According to a short interview with those involved that, although they are still in negotiation, it is likely that the trade show may end up in a Canadian city when they bring it across the ocean.

As it stands, there aren’t a lot of major gaming events in Canada, so it is a welcomed proposition. Although there is a developer’s conference in both Toronto and Montrèal this fall, nothing on the scale of E3, GC or TGS really exists in the country. The rumour right now is that Vancouver is the likely city for the convention, which would be interesting. Stay tuned for more information.

White Knight Chronicles Dated for Japan

While this may not be a big deal, or a complete mystery to some, it is pretty good news for any RPG fan, especially those looking for a good excuse to buy a PS3. Level 5′s White Knight Chronicles has finally received an official date in the Japanese magazine Famitsu, slated for December 25th of this year. It is the best Christmas present any RPG fan could ask for, as the game looks really solid from the information that has been released so far, and could be a big system seller in the holiday season. There is no North American date given so far, but due to the translation and normal time it takes to process a game into the overseas market from Japan, don’t expect anything until at least Summer of next year. Just having a date is good enough for now, giving hope to those who worried for the games release even next year.

August NPD – Nintendo Still King of the Castle

Madden, Madden and Madden comprise the top three software sales for August in the US with the 360, PS3 and PS2 versions coming out in first, second and third respectively. The sports game giant seems to have kept pace with its sales from the year before, amid fears that it was on pace to sell much less. The game also sold well over 2 million in its first month, showing how the series continues to be successful year to year. Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii brought up fourth and fifth, and Silicon Knight’s Too Human managed to stay in the top ten with just under 170,000 units sold. It seems that the game has fallen a bit quicker down the charts than SK hoped, but much more than many speculated based on the mostly negative or lukewarm reviews the game has received.

In the hardware section, the Nintendo DS has reached another half a million customers, with the Wii coming in second selling a measly 450,000. The only surprise from this month was the fact that the Xbox has regained some steam over the PS3 (not enough to get past the PSP, though) while rumours of price drops were continuing to swirl, and did actually happen at the tail end of the month. Given the fact that Microsoft has come out saying the sales have doubled since the drop, and the Xbox has outsold the Wii this week in Japan, expect the numbers to look a little different come mid-October, and the holiday season to continue to get much more interesting for sales junkies.