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PAL, US or Japan: why one game has three prices
The same retro game sells for very different money in its US, PAL and Japanese versions. Why, with live prices, and how to pick the right one.
Three versions of one game
Most retro games came out in different versions for different parts of the world: NTSC-U for North America, PAL for Europe and Australia, and NTSC-J for Japan. Collectors treat them as different items, and they sell for different amounts. Sometimes the gap is small. Sometimes one version sells for many times another.
Why the prices differ
- How many were made, and how many survive. A game that sold well in Japan and poorly in Europe is common in one place and scarce in the other.
- Who wants it. Collectors mostly buy their own region's version, so demand follows the size of each region's collector market.
- Language and packaging. The box art, the manual and the language on screen differ, and a Japanese version is often cheaper outside Japan for that reason alone.
- Region locks. Many consoles only play their own region's games without an adapter or a modification, which keeps buyers in their own lane.
Live prices, version by version
| Game, boxed (CIB) | US | PAL | Japan | Biggest gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silent HillPlayStation | €25057 sales | €13238 sales | €5812 sales | 4.3× |
| EarthBoundSuper Nintendo | €2,27928 sales | -no sales yet | €5228 sales | 44× |
| Pokémon Emerald VersionGame Boy Advance | €59933 sales | €40129 sales | €15226 sales | 3.9× |
| Super Mario 64Nintendo 64 | €11438 sales | €5235 sales | €3527 sales | 3.3× |
| The Legend of ZeldaNES | €13468 sales | €14734 sales | €10719 sales | 1.4× |
| GoldenEye 007Nintendo 64 | €7956 sales | €4531 sales | €5625 sales | 1.7× |
How gamepricefeed handles it
We never average versions together. Every version has its own price, its own sales count and its own rating, and every game page has a version switch. If a game has no sold data for a version yet, we say so rather than borrow another version's number.
Questions
Will a PAL game play on a US console?
Often not without an adapter or a modified console. Many consoles are region locked, and PAL and NTSC also use different TV standards. Check your console before buying another region's version.
Which version is worth the most?
It depends on the game. Look at the version switch on the game's page: each version is priced from its own sales.
Why is the Japanese version so cheap?
Usually because more copies exist relative to collectors who want them outside Japan, and the language puts some buyers off. A few Japanese releases are the rare, expensive exception.
Prices in EUR, converted from US-dollar sales at the 2026-10-23 ECB reference rate.