Regional SNES cartridge question

[Trevelyan]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/SNES_Cartridge_Comparison_bottom.jpg/180px-SNES_Cartridge_Comparison_bottom.jpg

I couldn't find a thread on this, but it's a perennial gripe I have with the regional variation of the SNES cartridge & would like to see what everyone thinks! I just read on wiki that the PAL systems & their cartridges offer "approximately 16.7% slower gameplay" due to a difference in video Hz, but it's the design that I find strange too.

The NES cartridge's for PAL & NTSC regions look identical (as they do for the N64), but not so for the SNES. NTSC SNES cartridges have end labels & have a similar cut to the NES cartridges. The PAL SNES cartridges are cut more like the N64 cartridge (& dont have end labels)!

Wiki describes it as thus..."On a physical level, the cartridges [For the SNES] are shaped differently for different regions. North American cartridges have a rectangular bottom with inset grooves matching protruding tabs in the console, while other regions' cartridges are narrower with a smooth curve on the front and no grooves."

I think it might of been done to further Nintendo's desire to keep the region's separate form a marketing/business POV. Im not sure though. So, anyways!, I'd like to know which is your favorite from a aesthetic perspective (& i'll include the system too, though I understand this might be an inseparable issue)

[Alfador]

Ntsc 4 Life!

[MasterJSP]

Super Famicom carts also have the same design as SNES PAL carts. I like that design better except for the no end label bit.

[Steven]

Super Famicom carts also have the same design as SNES PAL carts. I like that design better except for the no end label bit.


Yep, though I also like the US look equally, both "old bulky" and "newer thin." I guess it's coz I grew up with it and I dunno, I just like the look of it :p

The end label makes it really click for me in particular

[Poofta!]

i like super famicom more than the snes. but the carts i dont like simply cause they have smaller labels that dont sneak onto the top of hte cart. the shape i think is nicer on the PAL carts anyway, but that label thing is a deal breaker.

[MrRoboto19XX]

I love the European look of the PAL/NSTC-J SNES, but I'm a bigger fan of our US end labels.

If I had an SNES that looked like a PAL, and fit the US carts (I've never tried, but would assume they don't work.) I'd be in business.

[badinsults]

For stackability, nothing beats the US carts!

[Icarus Moonsight]

SFC > SNES in the design aesthetics dept. The multi-color buttons of the pad are also better than the purple set we got. While I like some of the design of SFC carts the convex really breaks all the good. So NTSC on the carts.

[Sudo]

I like the shape of the SFC carts better, but being able to see the name of the game on the top of the SNES ones gives it the edge IMO.