Pelikonepeijoonit - The Arctic Computer and Console Museum

PAL <> NTSC

The internet has boosted the trading of computer/video games and machines on an international scale, bringing about a few problems as well. On this page, we are gathering information about how games and machines from different parts of the world function together. Please mail us with any additions or corrections!

Also, information on different kinds of modifications would be appreciated.

Please note: This information is provided as a service only and in good faith. Should the machine break in consequence of misuse of games made for another type of machine, or should someone use the info on this page to play pirated games, we are not to be held responsible. Unless you know what you are doing, it is easy to mangle your beloved system beyond recognition by attempting to modify it.

IMPORTANT: The electrical standards in different parts of the world are not necessarily compatible. For example, Japan and USA have 100-120 volt mains, whereas in Europe the voltage is 220-240 V. Connecting a US game system to a European wall socket, for example, will result in hardware damage as well as human casualties. You'll see shops selling adaptors that will modify the wall plugs to fit, but be not fooled; these are for shavers and other multi-voltage devices. You need a proper step-down converter, with isolation, to get your foreign game systems running. These are available in shops selling electrical appliances, and will cost to the tune of $50 (you only really need one). Another option is to replace the power supply with a local one - very easy in the case of older consoles (external PSUs), a bit harder with later ones since the connectors inside tend to vary. However, import shops with service facilities usually have spare power supplies as spare parts. In Finland, the best place for these things is Game House. They can also modify your machine for import use, just drop them a line.

If you cant find what you are looking for from this page, try :
The UK Classic Collectors Console Compatibility FAQ
And a page dedicated to pinouts, AV/RGB modifications and such :
Game Station X

Machine	NTSC game on PAL machine	PAL game on NTSC machine
Atari 2600	Works, wrong colors, picture might scroll	Works, wrong colors, picture might scroll
	Solution : get a TV that supports NTSC, or modify the system for AV out.	Solution : get a TV that supports PAL, or modify the system for AV out.
Atari 7800	Some games won't work at all, others will but with serious graphical glitches.	?
Atari 8-bits (carts, disks, tapes)	99.99% of NTSC software will run perfectly on PAL machines, but slightly slower. Not all PAL software will run on NTSC systems (a lot of newer European games and demos crash or don't run properly on American computers, but programs that work will be a bit faster!). 99.9% of PAL/NTSC software will run on French SECAM Ataris.
Atari Jaguar	Works	Works
	Jaguar carts have both (PAL & NTSC) versions in them. It's preferable to run them in NTSC for a faster game!
Atari Lynx	Works	Works
CBS Colecovision	Works both ways, internal TMS-9918a clocks independent of cart.
Commodore Amiga	Largely dependent of the game in question. Later Amigas with the ECS/AGA chipset may switch between NTSC and PAL at boot-up (hold down both mouse buttons for "Amiga Early Start-Up Control" menu, then hit the space bar).
Commodore C-64 (carts)	Games with raster effects may have display/timing problems, otherwise everything should work. If you are having enormous trouble with a game, look for a PAL (or NTSC) fixed floppy disc version at c64.com.
Commodore VIC-20 (carts)	Works
Fairchild Channel-F (Luxor)	Works	Works
Magnavox Odyssey^2 Philips Videopac	Everything works except: G7000 Frogger (PB) and Chess Module (and perhaps Basic Module). O^2/G7400 (G7400 is the Euro release of the never released O^3): all plus carts work, but any G7400-only carts will not work on G7000 or O^2.
Mattel Intellivision	Works	Probably works?
Microsoft Xbox	Needs modification (mod-chip)	Needs modification (mod-chip)
	The Xbox has adapted the Sony approach to imports, i.e. very strict area coding. Only a mod chip will do, and at the moment they are rather tricky to install, though getting easier all the time and other methods are being developed. There's (at the moment) 3 region free Xbox games : Mech Assault, Unreal Championship and Return to the Castle of Wolfenstein.
Milton Bradley Vectrex	Works (dedicated screen)
Nintendo Game Boy (+ color + Advance)	Works (dedicated screen)
Nintendo GameCube	Needs modification (boot disc)	Needs modification (boot disc)
	While you can easily modify the US GameCube to play Japanese games and vice versa, or even buy a premodified system, PAL games and systems are more troublesome. However, there is a neat solution - the Freeloader import boot disc. Several months in the making, it was finally released in February 2003, and should work OK with most games. Please let us know if you have more info and experience of this disc.
Nintendo NES	Needs modification (lock-out circumvention)	Needs modification
Nintendo 64	Needs modification	Needs modification
Nintendo SNES	Needs modification, there is a device that converts the SNES NTSC signal to PAL signal. The typical modification is to use an adaptor cartridge (the most common version is called "Universal Adaptor") that takes two carts at a time, using the area code from one and the game from another. The SNES Action Replay cart can also do this. Some games will only work with certain adaptors, we've yet to see a clear pattern... As usual, GamesX has instructions for a rather easy universal modification.
NEC Turbografx / PC Engine	Needs modification to play TG games on PC Engine and vice versa. Picture of the converter. Released only in USA and Japan. The NTSC/PAL problem can be cured with a TurboBooster that adds AV- outputs to the machine.
(Panasonic) 3DO	Works, no area lockout
Sega Dreamcast	AC Adaptor built-in, voltages: +5V, -5V, +12V, -12V. Three different, incompatible versions exist: Japanese, European and US. Mod-chips are available to run all software on all Dreamcasts, and games work rather well apart from slight timing problems (try playing NTSC-J Space Channel 5 at 50 Hz!). The Gameshark CDX game enhancer GD-ROM also has import game support, and even the Utopia Boot CD can be used to some extent. When operating an NTSC-native DC in PAL territory, the VGA box comes in handy, providing S-Video outputs which will work on later PAL TVs, giving a crystal clear image. Some of the earlier Japanese games won't work, though, but all the better ones will. A SCART cable will also work with most games - but not all of them.
Sega Game Gear	Works	Works
Sega Master System	AC Adaptor voltage: 10.5V, center minus. The majority of games will play in all systems, but there are a handful of PAL games that won't work on NTSC systems, and there is the series of 8-Mega games from Brazil that will only work in an SMS III Compact or SMS III Super Compact. For example, the PAL games New Zealand Story and Back to the Future III won't work in NTSC. Street Fighter 2 & Sonic Blast are examples of 8-Mega games. There is a rumour that you could play basically any SMS games with a MegaDrive using the Power Base Converter add-on. You can play a lot of SMS games through a PBC, but there are a few games that won't work with Genesis controllers. You can't play card games or 3D games with a PBC 2.
Sega Mega Drive	AC Adaptor voltage: 10.5V, center minus (1.2 A for MD I, 850 mA for later models). Three different systems: Japan MegaDrive, Europe MegaDrive, US Genesis. Earlier games will work in either a US or UK/Euro/AUS system, because they didn't have lockout, but Japanese carts won't work due to a physical difference in the cart size; however, you can get a pass through adaptor for them. Later in the life of the system, games began to have software lockout, but you can get adaptors like the Super Mega Key, or use codes with an Action Replay to get the games to work in any system. The normal carts do not work between the two systems without a simple adaptor - there is also great variation in which games work with which adaptor, but the later ones should basically run all games. The best way to connect the MD to your TV is to use the Sega RGB SCART cable - works with all games. Also, you can rather easily modify your MegaDrive / Genesis and derivants for PAL/NTSC/NTSC-J by using the information at GamesX.
Sega Mega CD	AC Adaptor voltage: 10.5V, center minus, 1.2 A. Three versions: Japan Mega-CD, Europe Mega-CD, US Sega CD. The games are not compatible, but there is an excellent adaptor available: the CD+Plus, which allows "any hardware and software combination"; you can use mixed combinations of hardware not normally allowed (such as US Genesis and Euro MegaCD), as well as any software with any machine. To our knowledge, the CD+Plus is the only model which will work with all hardware, other versions are designed for MegaCD I only. The timing glitches tend to give you trouble when playing NTSC games on PAL MegaDrives, depending on your hardware. A first- generation MegaCD will probably work ok, but later and bizarre models such as the Multi-Mega/CDX (with BIOS versions above 2) have sound problems with imports. Since the Mega-CD has no copy protection, you can also run your discs through format converter software and re-burn them on CD-Rs.
Sega Nomad	US machine with dedicated screen, Genesis carts; according to our own limited research, about one in three Euro carts will work fine (and run faster too). Japanese carts do not fit in the slot (at least not Populous). If the game you love happens not to work, dig out your soldiering iron and head over to GamesX.
Sega Saturn	AC Adaptor built-in, voltages: +5V, -5V, +9V... Again, three versions, and games are not compatible. The latest Japanese games also require a memory upgrade. The area lock-out is a matter of jumper connections on the motherboard; see GamesX for an easy modification. There's also a new switchless mod which looks interesting. However, if you're not into soldering, add-ons similar to the CD+Plus exist (ST-Key, CD-Plus, Pro Action Replay...), and the newer versions (available from stockists in Britain, for example) also include extra save RAM and/or a memory expansion. There's at least one Saturn game that doesn't work properly with the adaptor carts: Wing Arms (PAL) had serious graphical glitches when playing on an NTSC machine.
SNK Neo Geo	Works	Works
SNK Neo Geo Pocket (& Color)	Works (dedicated screen)	Works (dedicated screen)
Sony Playstation	Needs modification (mod-chip or cartridge)	Needs modification (mod-chip or cartridge)
	Note that to get the colors right when running an NTSC game on a modified PAL machine, or vice versa, you need an RGB cable or a PAL/NTSC "booster" device. Newer PlayStations do not have the expansion port, so you cannot install an external cartridge to run import games. Instead, the machine has to be "chipped" inside. The PSOne is an even more difficult affair - with most modchips, you'll need an extra "Import Player" CD to run games from other territories. Nowadays, even boot discs are available to run imports - unfortunately, we have no experience of these.
Sony Playstation 2	Needs modification (mod-chip)	Needs modification (mod-chip)
	Currently, the only way to run imports on a PS2 is to get a mod-chip. Much of the above Playstation information also applies for PS2.
Other PAL<>NTSC -related info needed... Especially on systems not yet covered on this page, and the latest developments on new systems. Thanks to all who have submitted information so far!