View Full Version : Difference between PAL and NTSC 7800 boxes?
bunnybum
05-14-2009, 04:32 PM
Just a quick question before I'm off to bed, and I have a feeling I will look like a clueless gimp for asking this, but..
Is there a way to tell the region for Atari 7800 games just by looking at the boxes (any pictures would be awesome for this, btw)?
The reason why I'm asking this is that I have a box of sealed 7800 games, and I don't want to rip them open just to find out I completely ruined a perfectly fine collector's item just because I wanted to know the rarity of it.
Thanks in advance :)
Here you see a PAL Centipede and a NTSC Asteroids (Asteroids is not available as a PAL version, because it was built into PAL console), so basically, no
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=193221&g2_serialNumber=2
The Absolute Entertainment boxes are usually HES in PAL land:
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=251575&g2_serialNumber=1
Buyatari
05-14-2009, 05:04 PM
Some may have some indication there were made overseas (PAL) but from what I understand most do not. I sold some sealed games and had a buyer complain it was PAL when he opened it. This was long ago. I don't remember how it turned out but yeah long story short is that you are screwed either way. Open it and value drops leave it sealed and risk the game inside is really PAL.
megasdkirby
05-14-2009, 05:37 PM
I checked mine, just in case.
Don't care much for value as I was mostly concerned in having the correct copy. :)
Mayhem
05-14-2009, 06:54 PM
Short answer: no. All of the Atari published games use the same boxes for NTSC and PAL.
bunnybum
05-15-2009, 06:45 AM
Bummer :( Why on earth didn't Atari think of putting a region code on the boxes? I imaging this puts some people off collecting for the 7800?
Anyway, thanks a lot for your answers, it certainly cleared this up for me. Now all I have to do is find a pair of x-ray goggles and beam the crap out of the boxes(?) :D
Mitch
05-15-2009, 03:55 PM
Bummer :( Why on earth didn't Atari think of putting a region code on the boxes? I imaging this puts some people off collecting for the 7800?
Anyway, thanks a lot for your answers, it certainly cleared this up for me. Now all I have to do is find a pair of x-ray goggles and beam the crap out of the boxes(?) :D
As others have said only the third party games have different boxes. Sometimes the PAL version will have a non-english manual shrinkwrapped to the back of the box but not always.
The best rule of thumb is if you are buying a game from North America it is most likely going to be NTSC and if it's from Europe or Austalia it's PAL. Obviously not going to be 100% accurate but it's the best you can do.
Mitch
bunnybum
05-15-2009, 05:49 PM
As others have said only the third party games have different boxes. Sometimes the PAL version will have a non-english manual shrinkwrapped to the back of the box but not always.
The best rule of thumb is if you are buying a game from North America it is most likely going to be NTSC and if it's from Europe or Austalia it's PAL. Obviously not going to be 100% accurate but it's the best you can do.
Mitch
Yeah, that would be my best guideline too, but the box the games came in is pretty nondescript, and unfortunately I'm not in touch with the guy I got them from anymore. I'll see if I can put a couple of pics of the box up.
Pics here (don't know if this will help the detectives here)..
http://i39.tinypic.com/20rw6tx.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/1zqwnko.jpg
http://i41.tinypic.com/k0pk5c.jpg
Mayhem
05-15-2009, 10:09 PM
If you absolutely have to open one up to check, use the Cracked. The cart should have a P sticker on it if it's PAL. Otherwise it's NTSC. Leave the others shrinked; if you've got NTSC, then Mean 18 is gonna be worth a bundle...
bunnybum
05-16-2009, 01:02 PM
It was a hard decision but I ended up opening the Crack'ed, and it turned out to have a P sticker on the back of the cart, so I assume the rest of the games are PAL as well. I am going to keep them sealed, since I don't have a 7800 to play them on anyway.
Once again, thanks for everyone's input and help on this matter. I owe you one :D