Gas Hog - need help identifying PAL or NTSC

[karokoenig]

I recently got a Gas Hog cart cheaply off ebay. I'm in PAL land, so it's pretty likely the cart is PAL as well - which is common compared to the NTSC version. Since NTSC games do work on PAL consoles, as far as I know, I have no way of telling.

 

The cart looks exactly like the one here in the AA database, with the tiny difference that the serial number is SA217C instead of just SA217. Now, when I look on Atarimania, I find a label scan with the serial number SA217C among the scans for the US version. Is that even a criterion, and if not - how can I tell if it's PAL or NTSC? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[nofrills100]

I've been through this 'C' on serial numbers investigation before. In my opinion the C identifies it as a version for children - as mentioned at the bottom right on the back of the box.

I have never compared a 'C' serial game to another, so I can't say for sure - but I bet that's what it is.

[nofrills100]

Oh. And you can tell if it is NTSC or PAL by the colours. If you put an NTSC cart in a PAL system you will get whacky colours compared to the original ie. purple grass or orange sky etc.. So check the NTSC screen shot on AA or AM and compare. And a PAL cart in a PAL system should have a pretty close match to the original.

[karokoenig]

Thanks so far. Interesting to know about the "C". Makes sense. And thanks for the tips concerning PAL/NTSC. I'll check that out.

[Rom Hunter]

I recently got a Gas Hog cart cheaply off ebay. I'm in PAL land, so it's pretty likely the cart is PAL as well - which is common compared to the NTSC version. Since NTSC games do work on PAL consoles, as far as I know, I have no way of telling.

 

The cart looks exactly like the one here in the AA database, with the tiny difference that the serial number is SA217C instead of just SA217. Now, when I look on Atarimania, I find a label scan with the serial number SA217C among the scans for the US version. Is that even a criterion, and if not - how can I tell if it's PAL or NTSC? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would be very much interested to find out if the SA 217C version is actually PAL or NTSC.

 

My guess is that it's PAL, because Bumber Bash SA-218C has been 100% confirmed as PAL:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-bumper-bash_7519.html

 

Still not sure about the meaning of the C addition.

 

Edited December 19, 2013 by Rom Hunter

[karokoenig]

The colours don't look whacky, but the colour scheme is exactly like the NTSC one. I.e. red surface, black background. The PAL screenshots show green surface. Now, if it were an NTSC cart, it would probably look totally weird, right? Of course chances are overwhelming that it's a PAL cart, since they are all over the place on german ebay. Not rare at all. Any ideas how to make completely sure? Preferredly without opening the cart and looking. The label is almost pristine, and I'd hate to punch holes into it to get to the screws.

 

Let's say I find a monitor or TV that I can switch to NTSC. How exactly would the game look/behave?

[Supergun]

Still not sure about the meaning of the C addition.

 

I always assumed the "C" stood for Canada.

Wasn't Spectravision/Spectravideo Canadian based?

Although Canada is NTSC so that wouldn't make any sense.

Never Mind