PAL.....anyone? (aka the impossibility to collect seriously)

[Zubiac666]

Well,isn't it pretty darn hard(or better:impossible) for euro-gamers/collectors to collect SERIOUSLY games?
I mean: There are NO complete rarity lists for PAL-NES games and stuff.
I'm in this situation (I live in Austria) and all I (can) do is driving around buying pal NES-games without having a clue what I'm getting (if it's rare or worth the price).
I even think it's impossible to complete a PAL-set of consoles like NES,SNES,Genesis/Mega Drive,Master System....just think of all the language and label varities.

So,what are u(the other euro-collectors) doing?
Is there any chance for us to escape the collectors-hell?
Are we forced to don't know the real value of our collection?

[Vroomfunkel]

Well you're not entirely right ...

There is a pretty much complete PAL Saturn list up at www.wokhoss.co.uk - also there is a new, but growing list up at www.diehardgamer.co.uk

Now, the trouble is that some rarities will differ widely from country to country in PAL regions. As for title / label variations ... my advice on the whole is to ignore them. Otherwise you will indeed have an impossible task. Just settle for one copy of each unique game. That seems more sensible.

As I said, the list at DieHardGamer.co.uk is not perfect at the moment, but it has only just started really. My advice is to write in with any new games you find that are not on the list, or any info that you come up with. That is what I have been doing. These things need some input to make them work ... Joe didn't write the entire DP Guide on his own , you know! And there isn't going to be a comparable PAL guide unless there is a bit of similar co-operation

Vroomfunkel

[Arrrhalomynn]

I'm not sure if the lack of lists is a problem for collecting. If you see a game you don't have yet, you buy it. No matter what the rarity of it is. That said, it's nice to have a list to see how many games you still need. I don't see it as a necessity though.

As far as language versions are concerned, I always try to get the english version, even if there's also a dutch version. If I ever plan on selling the games, I probably get more for an english version since it appeals to a larger group of people.

I know a lot of people loath ebay, for it's inflated prices, but I still think it can be a great help when determining the value and rarity of a game.

[anagrama]

I'll also buy English langauge games wherever possible, and just get foreign versions if they weren't released here.

As far as rarity lists, I can't help you with the NES, but Racoon Lad maintains an excellent Master System list on this very site (click Rarity Lists at the top of the page). I'm in the process of revamping the Megadrive list, which should be ready (with rarities) in a couple of weeks [fingers crossed], and I believe Ruudos and Hydrox are currently working on the SNES list.

If there's anything in particular you're wondering about rarity/values for, I'm sure some of the knowledgable Euro-DP'ers will be able to give you a rough idea.

[hydr0x]

there are complete PAL lists of:

Dreamcast
32X
MD
MCD
Saturn

though the MD/MCD/SAT lists are almost certain still missing games, DC and 32X are complete though

Ruudos and i are working on a complete SNES list

for the country problems, what i'm doing is:

i try to get all games that have german boxes plus the english version of all games that have no german one

you have to love sega for making most games european and not german or english or whatever, e.g. dc only has about 10 pal games that have a special german release, all others are european (german,french,english,dutch/italian/spanish) releases which are the same in whole europe (don't know for australia)

i don't collect australian games at all, they are PAL but it's like Japan<->USA, both are NTSC but noone would say a collection is only complete if you have all japanese and american games. i collect european games, not pal!!!!! (french games are not pal but secam btw)

[anagrama]

though the MD/MCD/SAT lists are almost certain still missing games

Yup, I've found another 5 or so Megadrive (mainly sports) games that I missed off the list first time around. I'm pretty confident that it'll be 99% complete once I get the revised version finished though.

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm, I consider myself to be serious in collecting PAL games, but I limit myself enough that I've only got a few wanted purchases as it is :P I don't have much problem finding the few games that I want, though, so I'm not falling into the category of a serious collector that the thread refers to (though I have no idea why only collectors interested in complete collections are considered "serious," hmm).

PAL collecting is highly underrated, which is a shame.

[anagrama]

PAL collecting is highly underrated, which is a shame.

Nah, that's the beauty of it - (relative) lack of competition

[Ed Oscuro]

Heh heh :D

[dreamcaster]

You think PAL collecting is hard? Try PAL collecting in Australia.

Actually, here's the best way to sum in up in a nutshell:

1. Double the rarity of everything.
2. Double (if not more) the price of everything.
3. Forget about ever owning half of the consoles released in NTSC territories.
4. Realise that your measly collection of 150 games took about as much money, time and effort as it would've an American collector to amass 500 games.

</rant>

[Ed Oscuro]

I personally really want to get a copy of the SMS Shadow Dancer out of Australia, really bad. o_O

[Asylum Seeker]

A long time ago myself and a few others (some who are on these very boards) started to get together trying to compile PAL lists - they probably still exist somewhere. Not sure what happened but we kind of gave up.....shame cos it was fun

[dreamcaster]

I personally really want to get a copy of the SMS Shadow Dancer out of Australia, really bad. o_O

If I see it around I'll let you know. But why so desperate?

[Ed Oscuro]

One of the SMS's best games, if it was released in the US you can bet it'd be on the top 10 list. Also, working on a Shinobi site, which I've got to get finished up enough that I can start getting hosted.

[NvrMore]

Well, I only seriously collect for the PAL SNES and I only do that for the reason that I really like the system, so the issue of valuing my collection has never really bothered me too much. I know what I have and I know what it's worth to me.. so in that respect the relative lack of any solid rarity/value isn't really anything more than an inconvenience.

When I started picking up SNES games again and moved onto actually collecting for the system I just started collecting info about the games/releases myself as it became available and just started to build my own lists/info base from there.

To be honest I like the lack of info about the PAL side of the system, building my own information base makes for a nice addition to the actual collecting side of the hobby and I do quite like the surprises that come with discovering something which I didn't previously know existed/was released. Not putting down NTSC collecting, but for me it lacks the element of discovery and uncertainty that PAL collecting provides.

As for the question of "is it rare?"/"worth the price?" when buying games, for me it tends to be more a case of "do I already have it?"/"do I want to play it?"

Now what's really tragic is the number of systems and games I pass over (SMS, MD, 32X, Mega CD, Saturn etc.) for the sake of the fact I only collect for the SNES

[Ed Oscuro]

My only PAL SNES game is Super CV 4; I like the box more than the US version what with the silvery look and better placement of text (i.e. the clunky game abstract box cutting into the box art on the US version is repositioned on the European version thus leaving the artwork unchanged).

I like the newer PAL Mega Drive boxes as well, the blue themed ones like Comix Zone (never mind the artwork on that specific title, though...only the Japanese release has half decent cover art and even that's slightly marred by the silly inclusion of nonsense English onomatopoeia). It also seems to me that they kept the high-quality plastic cases longer than U.S. releases did.

Also, odd as it might sound, I like the two NES Probotector games. There's no radical changes to the game but the new artwork makes for a refreshing change. Don't like the SNES Probotector much, though. I think you have to admit that Contra Hard Corps' box art fares better as remixed for Probotector, as well, though once again nevermind the game changes.

[Saturn Sensei]

PAL collecting is fun because it is so unorganized, it reminds me of the early days.

These guys have some interesting articles and such. Based in Finland.

http://www.pelikonepeijoonit.net/articles.html

Here are some of my PAL DC gems:

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/md_.../Games&.view=t

Oh, and NvrMore, I only have one PAL SNES game, Soul Blazer. Heard somewhere that it is rare??

[NvrMore]

Oh, and NvrMore, I only have one PAL SNES game, Soul Blazer. Heard somewhere that it is rare??

Depends on whether the documentation and in-game text is in english or not.

There's actually a few versions that were released in PAL format. Nonetheless it's a good one to have and the only one remaining of the trilogy that I still need (someday.. ).

[Raccoon Lad]

I personally really want to get a copy of the SMS Shadow Dancer out of Australia, really bad. o_O

It wasn't just released in Australia. In fact, the Australian OziSoft manufactured SMS games are total crap compared to the quality of the games that were manufacturted in Japan (available in Europe). The OziSoft cart labels suck, and the boxes are like a 1/4 inch shorter than other SMS boxes. Overall, I steer CLEAR of Australia for SMS stuff seeing as most of the SMS games there were manufactured by Ozisoft.

[Ed Oscuro]

Still need it for the site. Can't very well pretend to be creating the world's most exhaustive English-language Shinobi site without mentioning that one LOL

But yeah, I'd like the normal PAL version (was there a Japanese release? I don't doubt it but I can't remember seeing a picture recently.)