Why Every Game was Slower in Europe (50hz vs 60hz)

[@NathanielBandy]

I love how rapping has just been a recurring theme in your videos haha

[@tahamohammad8842]

Jon Cartwright yes,please do

[@TiredOfNamesTaken]

@@tahamohammad8842 I ditto that

[@Mario-pz2wb]

Hey nathaniel did you notice some scott the woz influence ? It was really cool 👌

[@notaidan405]

Nathaniel Bandy no way NO WAY

[@bbbbzshssaggzxjkxjkfkgjzxf]

Hi bandy

[@ggnicklu]

Lyrics of the PAL rap: Hey everybody, how do you do? Allow me to tell you about the eu. The United Kingdom may not be there anymore, but there's some history we can't ignore. A chunk of the world is split into 3 things: there's PAL, there's SECAM, there's NTSC. Here in Europe everything is PAL, when you go back, you wonder how? So if you're an american have a splash... Everything in these drawers is trash. *Garbage*

[@vitorkk328]

Brazil has a system that combines the 60hz of NTSC the color scheme of PAL

[@caseys2698]

vitor kk that sounds wonderful- any idea if there’s ROM files of those versions for older games? 🤔

[@everardogarcia6047]

*_Garbage._*

[@vitorkk328]

@@caseys2698 They're the same roms for NTSC. In fact, all of our gaming systems followed the NTSC pattern (as far as I know) , but the TV displays were different concerning the color scheme

[@nathanjones5143]

"The United Kingdom may not be there anymore" its true, we floated away from the mainland.

[@krealyesitisbeta5642]

Sonic in Japan: "Gotta go fast!" Sonic in America: "Gotta go fast!" Sonic in Britain: "Gooottaaa gooooo faaaaaaaaaaast."

[@kaspervletter290]

Sonic in brazil: gotta still sell well after 20 years!

[@arisenpawn425]

@@kaspervletter290 brazil is full of sonic fans?

[@kaspervletter290]

@@arisenpawn425 master system fans yes

[@kenpanderz672]

Britain was the AoStH sloth kid, basically

[@damysticalone87]

Those read, listen to / bugged / eavesdrop / overheared / tapped, watched, spied, copied and steal many of my ideas (=inventions) initiated by me: + open, transparent 360° sunlight Buildings, construction methods, architectures, designs, concepts; + Step-floor / -storey / -level / -tier pyramid (e.g., as a residential building); + 360° stepped floors / storey / level / tier buildings (constructions, architectures, construction methods, designs, concepts, 2D, 3D, models); + 3D 360° environment (surround), volume, space (room) audio / sound; + 360° environment (surround), volume, room screens (displays), monitors, TVs; + Screens (displays), monitors, TVs without backlighting; + many things with magnets like Micro-OLED; + 360° screens, monitors, TVs, panels, glass; + curved screens, monitors, TVs, panels, glass; + 360° reflections and light digital: "ENB", "Ray-Tracing" / "RTX", “Lumen illumination” and whatever renaming! + Short Throw Projectors; + dark backgrounds / themes / skins for windows, browser windows, internet sites, programs / apps, etc.; + fanless, passive cooling (I’m not the inventor of water-cooled); + 360° open, transparent PC cases; + 360° Sphere, Ball as a Wheel (2D, 3D) “Omniwheel” / “Omni-Wheel”; + Flying objects, planes that take off and land vertically, for example by hot air, example fighter jet; + and much more! + I'm not the inventor of VR, but of "AR", AR glass, AR glasses, objective in real life! It was only later that I realized that they derived a lot from my ideas (=inventions), a lot came about that has to do with color and light, through me as an initiator, booster / catalyst, e.g., through my idea, invention of the Screens without a backlight and without a built-in / integrated backlight! It is no coincidence that only afterwards, after I initiated this, they built, built and are building those inventions thanks to my impetus! They sell my ideas (inventions) as theirs! They are not the inventors, but the first technical implementers of my ideas (=inventions)! And those are not the inventors, but the thieves of my ideas (=inventions) initiated by me, because those act as if I wasn't the first hand and the first domino, and they take unjustly, undeservedly a lot of money, stolen money (blood money), recognitions, awards, certificates, fame and history, they boast of my laurels / merits! Before me they all were stucked at LCD, Plasma TV and less lights! I have made a deep impact in evolution! Those manipulate, sabotage, falsify, distort images, paintings, digitized and real, animations, videos, films, also composed of many images, even the publication dates of mine, others and their posts, images, videos, etc.! You have to understand, those can distort everything that can be heard and seen in real life and digitally! They block and delete my pictures, videos, posts, comments, comments-answers and answers! They are poisoning and murdering the world with fake diseases, treatments, "vaccinations"/ "vaccines" and injections by syringe! Now they also make it out as if they haven't been ripping off, cheating, enslaving, murdering other countries with the money currency, money exchange by even -99% for more than two centuries! And as if I'm not the first to disclose that and more! As if I didn't disclose and initiate > 1.00 Ruble = 1.00 Euro (€) = 1.00 Dollar ($) = any (X) any country < years ago! Each and every non-civilian you hear and see on TV is involved! You can hear and see their > blue blue blue

[@dikinebaks]

This difference between regions *hertz* me

[@esteban6535]

I hate you and love you for that

[@newageBoundhippie]

AC what you did there

[@josephboehmer1245]

@@newageBoundhippie you're a DC.

[@louispluspizza]

Ah frik

[@420-z9m3y]

It hertz quite frequently

[@ThatCrazeeGuy]

"There is one thing that Europe is forever cursed with..." *Proceeds to rap*

[@onlinehusk86]

Anyone else think he’s just Scott the Woz but 20% slower

[@INRamos13]

So, he's European Scott the Woz?

[@alexadam9325]

20% sexier

[@technobits1337]

50Hz Scott > 60Hz Scott

[@Pureheartt13]

Both are good in their own way.

[@halami2149]

I was thinking the same, and was hoping I would already find it in the comments, and you’re the first comment I saw

[@hippotripo6145]

Have y’all noticed that Beethoven has been reaaal quiet since Jon dropped that rap 👀. Just saying.

[@sleepyforest7142]

rip

[@soundbreaker8174]

Because he’s dead

[@MrHomelessHobos]

@@soundbreaker8174 uh wrong

[@gabrielloren9157]

Sound Breaker r/whoosh

[@DavidMartinez-oc7nj]

hEs dEaD

[@Larry]

It also worked the other way, some games they made to a specific speed for PAL regions, then forgot to slow it for the NTSC release, Shadow of the Beast on the Genesis/Mega Drive is borderling unplayable in the US as it plays so fast. The Japanese version was fixed though.

[@slotnonaquayt]

Interesting

[@fr_schmidlin]

Yeah, back then I thought that Europeans loved to make impossibly hard games. Only later I discovered that they were just running too fast. Playing Lotus II on the NTSC Amiga was like a rollercoaster! 😂

[@ShwappaJ]

I read that as Altered Beast lmao

[@imgonnagetwhatiwant]

Sonic in slow-mo reminds me of those nightmares where my legs feel like they're made of lead and I can barely move.

[@caseys2698]

Daimaou.Spîkle 😰😓😱😥

[@dianaloayzat4975]

Hmmmm.... that reminds me of a sonic rom hack where sonic can get drunk.

[@mr.jamster8414]

You get those too, where it's like gravity is three times softer but you weight is four times heavier?

[@pukalo]

For SM64, the compiler used for the PAL release had optimisations enabled, while the NTSC version had debug code enabled, explaining the better overall performance on PAL. Enabling optimisations on an NTSC version improves framerate considerably.

[@somasora7]

Sonic in the US: GOTTA GO FAST Sonic in the UK: Gotta go moderately well-paced

[@ShwappaJ]

I would love to hear a British Sonic say that

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

Sonic in Japan and the U.S.: "I'm coming!" Sonic in the U.K.: "I'm still coming!"

[@InvaderIceStrike]

I can't even imagine what Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life - Special Edition at 50hz would look like. The closest I could guess would probably be a Jon Cartwright™ Powerpoint doused in molasses.

[@nicolasmartinez4337]

This thought frightens me

[@charliedrinkstea7643]

It wouldnt be legal to drive that slow on the highway

[@slotnonaquayt]

69th like ;)

[@nicedood4824]

Damn. This video is so high quality. I really liked your editing and your choices of music. Amazing!

[@ramcams]

the EU rap was FIRE

[@sleepyforest7142]

That Sonic intro made it sound like the Genesis was drunk

[@bigbigchungusbigchungusbig1117]

Bruh I'll have you know us Europeans call it a Mega Drive

[@slotnonaquayt]

Big MiniSaur So does japan

[@SuperTrainStationH]

I remember when KZbin first hit and Sega fans from the UK were complaining on NTSC Sonic the Hedgehog videos that the "music was too fast" and insisted that NTSC players were playing on emulator with a speed enhancement or something. The arguments that ensued were classic.

[@fineapple3435]

That’s actually sad.

[@DonWafle]

It's Jon, back and forth! Welcome back men

[@KaeraNeko]

I recall always setting my games to 50 Hz, since I noticed pretty early on that if I set them to 60 Hz, I'd get a high pitched noise coming from the TV. It wasn't loud, but it was noticeable enough to be unbearably annoying.

[@DominatingVGM]

I remember having the same complaint years ago about Sonic's speed just being an over-hyped marketing gimmick (especially since I had Mega Collection+ and not the regular one) and then a friend told me about how he was watching a KZbin video with American Sonic footage and being blown away by how quick it was, that's when I looked into it personally and found out how slow our games were generally I'm glad you're educating people outside PAL regions about this

[@TheOddMindofSamBo]

I literally never know what to expect from this channel

[@refat17]

Back when I got super smash brothers brawl, I played it on a 4:3 CRT. When going through the options menu there was an option for widescreen, and not knowing any better, it confused me that when I would choose widescreen, the game looked like it was squished. Not understanding this was about the tv monitor, I questioned why an option called "wide" would make the game look squished which is the exact opposite of wide.

[@pedlar6839]

do you still have the crt. i need it for melee blip blip toryahhh

[@refat17]

@@pedlar6839 No, and it was quite small anyways. But I do wish I had it because PS2 games look awful on flatscreen monitors.

[@pedlar6839]

@@refat17 yeah tbh i kinda miss having a crt, Threw my last one away a few years ago. i dunno probably nostalgia, and actually having watchable old games is nice too

[@Matanumi]

Still have my Wii and crt...although the wide screen is perfect for running dophin

[@shrippie-4214]

They actually did this because they put meth in the water in Europe, and people thought the games were too fast

[@gamerletter1986]

Jon is literally just becoming a rapper at this point and I love every single part of it.

[@scrambled5948]

I’d love to see more videos like these, really informative and interesting. If you take video requests, I’d like to request a video in this style on why the NES failed in Europe and the Sega Master System succeeded.

[@IanMalcolm99]

@Salieri also there were 2 versions of the nes, and some games were only compatible with one or the other and it was hard to tell when picking a game up if it worked on your nes

[@bigbigchungusbigchungusbig1117]

@@IanMalcolm99 wasn't that in Japan

[@liammeech3702]

Mattel distributing NES consoles through Boots and Wilko's was pretty much a non-starter

[@goronberry]

I remember playing sonic heroes on my dad's ps2 as a kid, it asking whether to play on 50 or 60hz and not knowing what it meant (similar to your experience with the dreamcast) Since then I learned a basic understanding but this video helped me to learn a lot more about it. I was shocked to learn that it it was still a problem during the wii days. All of your videos have been consistently entertaining and this one is no exception, great job!

[@fco64]

I mean the Wii didn't have this issue because a lot of pal games on 50fps just skip frames to keep up with 60fps

[@YellowpowR]

Now release the PAL version of this video, 20% slower. (Wonderful video essay, by the way.)

[@tibethatguy]

This is the PAL version though...

[@YellowpowR]

@@tibethatguy Oh dang, then he gotta make the NTSC version 20% faster.

[@Pixiuchu]

So then the PAL segments now plays at 64% speed. Lovely.

[@PantsYT]

@@YellowpowR the ntsc version of this is scott the woz

[@TeamSoraPresents]

I'll be honest: hearing that slowed-down version of Green Hill Zone caused me physical pain.

[@toddmarshall2925]

I came here to say that exact thing.

[@ryapowa]

I can agree with this, I feel bad for everyone who has been subjected to this torture as a kid. I grew up with Sonic the Hedgehog so hearing and seeing it 20% slower just hurts

[@blooga3941]

It's fine hearing it slow, you don't know any different and all games were like that.

[@ryapowa]

@@blooga3941 But growing up with NTSC and then going to Pal is just painful

[@MystFox1314]

I know right?

[@ten_spaces809]

As a german, I'm at least thankful, that the PAL-Versions provide my native language and therefore still have a certain value over the american or japanese releases. But if you live in the UK, having the PAL-Version is just inferior in any way, I feel like...

[@Tonypikmin]

Germans have my sympathies regarding that USK logo demon. Unfortunately, some PAL special editions have it too.

[@ten_spaces809]

Yeah, that USK logo sure is gigantic nowadays :) But a cool thing Nintendo does with special editions recently, is having these logos on an extra sheet of paper, so when removed, the boxart is fully visable (e.g. Link's Awaking).

[@MulkaMan]

Especially during the SNES era it was not common to have games localized in german. So with games like Zelda or Yoshis Island it was a huge thing to have that. I played so much ALTTP in NTSC but I have almost no nostalgia for that. I once converted to PAL german rom to NTSC and played that, and just the fact that it says "Energie" instead of "Life" somehow triggered all the nostalgia in the world for me. But since that game was optimized for PAL, it now ran a bit too fast. I wish there was some kind of tool to just put translations into the NTSC roms. But of course thats impossible and would have to be done at game-by-game basis.

[@sereniski_]

I had no idea that the games were actually slower, crazy. Awesome video Jon! I would love to see more content like this in the future. Keep up the great work

[@RickyPonPon]

I was just having to explain to someone why his Aussie N64 looked more squished! I've been getting into video game hardware lately and I'm finding stuff like this fascinating! Also, I can relate with the Wii being my introduction into Nintendo games! Started with New Super Mario Bros Wii and then I branched out to other Mario games, soon Zelda, and then tried out games the older games with the Wii Shop. I loved how much of Nintendo history I experienced from the Wii alone. Loved the video and I hope to see more!

[@danielsimmich1858]

Being an Australian game collector is such a wild experience partly because of this. Like we run on PAL but quite often games released here use the American name for the game as opposed to the European name except sometimes they don’t and sometimes we just never got an Australian release so I have to buy the European release instead. Also we quite often got games before Europe at the same time as the US except not always etc etc. fun times

[@ZappBranniglenn]

C'mon Jon, in an era where Matrix was the coolest thing ever, don't tell me you didn't love playing games in slow motion. Or did the EU not get the Matrix.

[@buubaku]

Matrix came out in 1999, most of these games are mid 90s

[@ShermTank7272]

They got the Matrix 3 months late and 20% slower

[@bigman5823]

ShermTank7272 there’s a matrix three? we’re still waiting for the second one to come out

[@enid9911]

As a kid I loved to play mischief makers on N64. I totally loved the intro music and always let it play out before starting the game. Years later I watched a youtube video of that game and I was shocked to hear that the intro theme song was sped up... but it was actually how it was supposed to sound...

[@star_parodius]

What a timely video, I have been playing the NTSC version of FFVII for the first time on a modded PS1. I love the added smoothness. PAL is still fine, but once you've gone 60hz it's hard to go back.

[@customtoggle7938]

The benefit of growing up with 50hz makes playing old games even better I was mind blown the first time I played Sonic at 60hz. I realised that an entire library of already great games just got better

[@ximakun]

I remember playing PAL Final Fantasy X back in the day on my PS2 with Tidus looking like he'd been under a press and running in slow motion lol Those were dark times indeed.

[@ByeWorld]

FfX is one of the worst PAL versions ever made. Absolutely trash in every way, just look the aspect ratio.

[@anonimortaja]

Dude, i never noticed, even if i replayed it years latter on the vita version, how… i didnt notice it 🥲…

[@aquos_fox]

You talked a lot about Pal & NTSC, but here in France we were the only country in EU to use Secam which made this all thing even more complex

[@SonicSceptile]

This has just helped me realise why I was able to play Sonic 1 on the Megadrive really well when I was younger, but now struggle to keep control when playing the rereleases.

[@Mr96POP]

I’ll be honest. When Jon said he was 13 when Brawl came out, I was shocked because that means he’s born in either 1994 or 1995, which is only 1-2 years older than me. I guess I always thought that Jon was a bit older due to (1) his extensive gaming knowledge and (2) him being a parent now. Plus, a lot of gaming channels are made by people who tend to be at least 4 years older than me. Then again, it’s also a sign that I’m getting older as I’m turning 26 in a few days from when I’m writing this comment. Regardless, Jon is one of the best KZbin personalities when in comes to video games, and I can listen to him talk all day.

[@AlefSousa017]

As a brazilian, I totally feel you, man. We were all in this together, Europe, living the slow life back in the day.

[@rafamalaman]

No. We aren't. Our frankensteinish PAL-M is not really a PAL. So, our games uses the same resolution and speed of US ones. :)

[@AlefSousa017]

@@rafamalaman Oh, I see! I remember that we used to use PAL-M, but I thought it was just the "full name" of PAL, and that PAL and PAL-M were the same thing, hahaha. Thanks for clarifying it, man! Abraço!

[@netako]

You guys are so lucky...

[@brunoshure]

Brazil uses 60hz as the standard, but Argentina uses 50hz. PAL was developed after NTSC and it is better, also cheaper to implement, but it was made for 50hz. So Brazil grabbed it and modified to be compatible with 60hz. That's how PAL-M was born. Also, due to this factor, TV sets in Brazil usually have compatibility options with pure NTSC, pure PAL and PAL-N.

[@teu009]

Ei, porque vocês ainda tão falando em inglês

[@ha_chlorine]

"i'm too slow" - sonic in europe

[@slotnonaquayt]

Later: SPED

[@ClockedIt]

Heh what a great video. 50hz games never affected me until the N64 era where I played the Japanese versions of Wave Race and F-Zero X and I couldn't believe the difference with the speed and the lack of borders. After that, 50hz still didn't bother me but I certainly started importing a lot more after that during the Saturn, N64 and PS1 eras.

[@darkscythe1334]

I had the same impression regarding Somics speed seeming like a marketing thing. Its hard to go back to 50hz after being exposed to 60hz.

[@AliVe1234]

I never thought I'd see the gamexplain guy's face And I never thought I'd hear him rap

[@ChristinaMagma]

This video deserves a million views!!! Explained so well.

[@mrsolecrab]

I love this documentary/retrospective feel to this video. Especially with that 90s and early 2000s touch.

[@JeanSilva-kv3rb]

US: We use NTSC! Europe: We... use... PAL. Brazil: Well, why not both?

[@Kosmicd12]

yeah they adjusted mario's physics in smb1 for PAL but overdid it I guess (just like the music) so he accelerates faster and jumps higher

[@THE_PLAGUEtte_503]

0:56 the image he has in the background is slightly incorrect, Saudi Arabia follows pal/secam/and ntsc, basically all of the three systems are used there interchangeably.

[@RagnarokiaNG]

I grew up believing 50 was superior and 60 was a worse experience since the games / TV I had didn't run 60 well, some went black and white if I tried it. I remembered finding games like Sonic the Hedgehog easier when I was younger and harder now, I was going to blame it on growing older but CLEARLY the only fault is 60hz gamespeed making it harder, my eyes are obviously flawless!

[@sebastiankulche]

I do believe some few PAL games however are superior. Since they come out later, sometimes they can have fixes or even different level design compared to the NTSC version. I think one of the better examples would be Crash Warped, they fixed most of the NTSC bugs and make the game slighty harder.

[@KuraIthys]

Ultimately this isn't the hardware's fault, it's developers being lazy. There's also the underlying assumption that 'faster' is inherently better/intended. Which is likely true for most console games, given many of them are Japanese or American originally... But conversely the microcomputer scene was WAAAY bigger in Europe than anywhere else, and as a result you'll likely find the American versions of European made games are running faster than intended. (that is, if you can get them to run at all. A peculiar quirk of how PAL versions of hardware were built in the 8 and 16 bit eras means that they have relatively more CPU time available for doing graphics related stuff. Vastly more than the framerate difference alone would suggest. As a result, you can always port an NTSC game to PAL, but unless you fix it, it will run slower. But a game designed for a PAL system in the first place may actually be outright impossible to ever run on NTSC hardware...) I do wish developers had been a bit more careful. All it would have taken was the use of some constants with any timing related code that can be altered easily in a centralised location. On PC, where hardware and thus performance varied widly, the common approach was to use a high precision timer to count how long each frame took and do the actual game logic in seconds (or milliseconds, or what have you. Actual time, in other words) However, consoles and old computers frequently lacked such a precision timer. But, for instance, here's one possible way around this; Time things to a common multiple of 50 and 60. The lowest practical one is 300. So all ingame time based actions would be measured in ticks that last 1/300th of a second. Of course, the game can't run that precisely, since you only have the frames themselves to time things with. But the upshot of using 300 is this; Rather than counting 1 tick per frame, you count some larger number relative to the framerate. For a 60 hz system, 5 ticks per frame leads to 300 ticks a second. For a 50 hz system, 6 ticks per frame leads to 300 ticks per second. Plan this out properly and you can 'fix' the speed problem when porting from one to the other by changing a single constant somewhere in the code... But alas, it seems almost no developer ever gave this any thought. There are the few rare exceptions of course. Mario Kart for instance. (Which is surprising given how few other Nintendo games do this right...) Used well, PAL hardware can do things NTSC systems could only dream of. Unfortunately, that pretty much never happened. (for good reason too; Make such a game and you'll be unable to get it to work in an NTSC region. A much bigger problem than games just being slower...)

[@NicolaiLol]

Fantastic video and great idea concept!

[@requiem165]

?

[@ryanschwartz4959]

2:00 Well... that explains why there's a noticeable flicker on my CRT TV when I play PAL-region PS1 games (the model I got from my neighbor supports both NTSC and PAL signals, and works at both 50 and 60 hz).

[@IceSwagBiscuits]

Dammit Jon, I should hate your rapping but it's the reason I subscribed. I don't quite know what it is you're doing, but please keep it up.

[@nigoki9706]

Thing is that the UK always had the option to import from the US or Australia, play the Game in 60Hz and in English. For the rest of Europe where English is not the first language we had to wait for translation and localisation what left us with the 50 Hz disadvantage. To this day, if I wanna play OOT on the switch in German I have to do it in 50 Hz. Today I would just chose the American Version and play the game in English but back when I was a child I was dumb and not capable of doing so. And still I decide for the PAL version whenever I get the chance due to nostalgia.

[@netako]

“Here in Europe, everything is PAL” *LAUGHS IN FRENCH AND RUSSIAN*

[@requiem165]

Is France not pal?

[@netako]

@@requiem165 Both France and Russia (or the USSR back then) had its own format called SECAM, or SÉCAM in France (although a lot of countries in both Europe and outside of Europe also used SECAM during its first few years before switching to PAL), and while the console differs a bit when it comes to outputs (that's the reason why the N64 took a while to release in France), the games themselves are very rarely converted to SECAM, so most games released on SECAM markets are exactly the same their PAL counterparts.

[@matejnosal3937]

@@lol-ih1tl in non-broadcasting use, only color encoding. If you plug PAL console to SECAM TV, you will get B&W picture with sound. Thats why RGB Scart was made, to remove that limitation. Shame that there is no such bridge between NTSC and Brazilian PAL, because its the same problem.

[@matejnosal3937]

@@lol-ih1tl I know, but thats whole different thing, since resolution and framerate are different. I was talking about PAL consoles that can be played with color on SECAM (same resolution and framerate) TVs with RGB Scart solution, since there are only few truly SECAM consoles, that can output SECAM through composite rca cable (no more than 10 systems). So this was solution that allowed PAL consoles to be in color on SECAM TVs, so manufacturers saved money from not developing SECAM systems.

[@matejnosal3937]

@@lol-ih1tl Quick recap: NTSC 480i 60Hz (NTSC consoles) European PAL 576i 50Hz (PAL consoles) SECAM 576i 50Hz (SECAM consoles-very few, PAL consoles can be in color through RGB Scart) Brazilian PAL 480i 60Hz (NTSC consoles displayed in B&W, solution excluding component???) South American PAL 576i 50Hz (odd one, different color frequency than European one, solution is that most of their TVs are NTSC compatible, so NTSC consoles are sold there, PAL consoles can be displayed in color through RGB Scart tho)

[@pjslotboom]

For those who are wondering: The PAL System is just a colouring encoding system for analogue TVs. While most countries using PAL also have a frequency of 50hz, the PAL System is not defined by its frequency. Brasil, for example, uses PAL, while still running at 60hz (just like in the US). So when a video game is labelled with "PAL", it's slightly misleading. PAL games are NOT meant for countries using PAL, but for countries using the 50hz frequency. Countries like France and Russia don't use PAL, but do use the 50hz frequency, so they get PAL games. Also, because Brazil uses the 60hz frequency, it gets NTSC games, even though Brazil is technically in the PAL region. Some other interesting things to note: while most first party Nintendo games supported a 60hz version in the GameCube and Wii era, the Mario Party games by Hudson Soft only supported 50hz for whatever reason. On the other end of the spectrum, Super Mario Galaxy heavily discouraged playing in 50hz. If your Wii was set on 50hz, the game would advise to switch to 60hz every 100 days. So far, it's the only game I know that does this. Also, I think the PlayStation Mini chose the PAL version of games because of language support. Most of the time, classic NTSC-US games only support English, but PAL versions usually include every major European language. If you want to play a game in a certain language, it sadly has to be in 50hz.

[@LaserGlow]

Great video, love how the raps are becoming a consistent inclusion in your content.

[@joeandjoot]

This was a nice topic Jon. I love the WAHAHAHA part regarding the PSONE classic! hahaha!

[@joseusainternet]

For some reason your rap reminded me of don't hug me I'm scared Also you're doing fantastic work man, keep it up

[@Oysterblade84]

At 6:43 the Game Cube version of Sonic Mega Collection in PAL regions also ran at 50Hz something you didn't mention naughty boy. Yes there was a trick you could do by holding down a button when the console was first being booted up, a message would come on the screen prompting the player to select NTSC 60Hz but without holding that button down when the console was first turned on the player would get the PAL 50Hz version.

[@jayminer]

An interesting thing is that for home computers it was usually the oposite, games were developed in Europe and targeted 50Hz, which had more CPU-time each frame and for some computers like the Amiga could use the increased vertical resolution. I have problems when I watch US streamers play Commodore 64 games because the music sounds so off, and often the games are glitching and not behaving properly. We were still screwed because the best games back then were definitely for consoles, but it's always something.

[@Calham64]

Interestingly, even though PAL owners got slower versions of the games compared to NTSC, the UK did actually have something that NTSC didn't. It had the best video output from consoles during the 90s known as RGB Scart. NTSC at the time had composite, and the highest being S-Video, but the UK had the advantage of the best picture quality with crisp clear visuals, especially on a CRT at the time. In ways, it's funny looking back realising while Sonic 1 on the Mega Drive ran slower, it APPEARED better for us instead.

[@howard81]

Actually SCART (and RGB over SCART) dates from 1980 and were French standards that were eventually adopted Europe-wide. SCART stands for Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs (Union of Manufacturers of Radio Receivers and Televisions). Also called Peritel connector or Euroconnector. Most consumer sets came with SCART from about 1985 onwards.

[@Calham64]

@@howard81 Even further history with SCART, lol. Cheers for the info on that! I've learnt something new.

[@ryantreadway9971]

damn, with everything working against this, it's still charming as hell. i loved it. keep it up man, you're doing great.

[@shadhog0187]

I feel like im watching a scott the woz video, love this :)

[@NoobixCube]

This video really could have opened with "Hey, y'all, Jon here", and I wouldn't have batted an eyelid.

[@PantsYT]

@@NoobixCube hey all

[@Pupppeteer]

Broooo a delightful educational rap!!! Finally! Life during corona is not so bad.

[@mauriciovarela4750]

Sonic in the EU: Gotta go... pretty quick

[@nicksansouci]

Damn I didn't know this.... very informative and sorry to hear that you guys didn't grow up on true blast processing.

[@TheZmusicGroup]

Fortunately it's really easy to modify an European Megadrive to play games at 60hz, so we can have the real deal without buying another console or game. That's the easiest console to mod. Genesis does!

[@macaroni745]

A lot of people didn't know any better, including me. It's like if someone told Americans that their games from the 90s ran at 40 fps to the Americans, 40 fps version would seem weird.

[@Pumpkinhead77]

The other problem with PAL is that films in 24 frames per second have to be sped up by 4%.

[@J_Ciner]

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite channels

[@Bunnymorphosis]

0:55 fun fact: Brazil used PAL color system, but things ran at 60hz, afaik it was called PAL-M

[@SuperBazsle]

Really fascinating video! I'm also trying to prepare myself for the next What's That Track video by trying to pick out the background music in this video.

[@sly3759]

The track that starts playing at 1:14 sounds so familiar i really want to know where its from

[@SuperBazsle]

@@sly3759 It's one of level themes from Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi's Island. It's usually used in the cave levels.

[@sarapayne3404]

I hollered at that rap. Great job Jon! Love your content

[@Phillyjoe2]

Very good video. I grew up in the UK playing 50hz games and like you I never knew the difference of NTSC 60hz until later on in life (well, not until my Dreamcast asked me in 2000 if I wanted to play Jet Set Radio in 60hz, which when I tested it didn't work on my telly 😭). I am sort of annoyed that we only got 50hz, but I do see certain things I prefer the 50hz versions of, for example Star Light Zone and Scrap Brain Zone music in Sonic 1 are perfect in 50hz, but when I heard the 60hz versions I couldn't stand them! Nostalgia does play a big part in all that of course but I'm glad that all gaming seems to be a universal 60hz moving forward. Subscribed!

[@NicolausCamp]

Fun fact, back on DVD, PAL films actually ran 4% faster, so a 100 minute film in NTSC would only run for 96 minutes in PAL. Pitching issues with the sound were sometimes ghastly.

[@alfiehicks1]

What do you mean "back on DVD"? DVD is still a contemporary format, with yearly sales that still rival Blu-Ray. It might be older, but you speak as if it's as old as 8mm film.

[@NovaFrederick]

I remember playing GoldenEye (n64) for the first time in a European device and it took quite a while before getting somewhat used to it. Sound was slightly higher pitched as well.

[@magnusalexander2965]

Wow, seeing these games slowly made me nostalgic in a way I haven't gotten from replaying them on other systems. Strange

[@joshualisciarelli6960]

Man it was really cool getting to learn some history in the video. Really liked that

[@emergency1725]

I'm so glad I found this channel after almost no rep in Gamexplain's channel.

[@alexmabey7791]

Great video, Jon! 👍

[@Focalors21]

5:08 GoldenEye PAL's music and sounds have a higher pitch than the ones used in the NTSC. Although, to be fair, is the console that does that and not the PAL version of the game.

[@MLennholm]

Why is that? Did they compensate for the lower frequency not realising the N64 console already does this for audio?

[@marioboi323]

If time travel becomes a thing, I want someone to travel back to the 90s and tell Japan and the US to optimize for PAL

[@Karvan420]

While EU didn't get some of those games, instead we got one of the greatest game of all time for SNES that the US missed out on. Terranigma. If you haven't played it, i recommend it

[@dewdunk]

Watching Jon explore his creativity has been a lot of fun. He’s really talented.

[@NekkoBlue]

I'd imagine the audio wouldn't be affected, but man, it'd be really unfortunate but incredibly funny to hear the PAL version of Persona 3 have slower music and sound clips. Just imagine getting into every fight and hearing "BABYBABYBABYBABY" in slow motion, lmao.

[@mevb]

For some reason, in PAL regions the music in Super Mario Bros. wasn't running slower than NCS but faster instead. I read somewhere that they tweaked the game so the game wouldn't run slower but that resulted in faster tempo in the music and I grew up with this, so when I saw the Super Mario Bros. parodies on NewGrounds I thought "why was the Super Mario theme running slow". It didn't occur to me until years later, about 50 Hz and 60 Hz differences. Some music ques actually sounds better in 50 Hz than in 60, such as the music for MegaMan 2, the slower tempo suits better for the songs. Just listen to the PAL versions of MetalMan, Woodman and Flashman and you will see what I mean with that.

[@KirbyTG]

Genuinely good rap. I demand an extended version. *_Now._*

[@Kniffel101]

Jon, I love how creative you are with your channel! Thank you for these really awesome videos! :)

[@NamelessGamer29]

That stray hair on the Dreamcast is killing my OCD.

[@Moonstrider]

So this is why there’s 50Hz in Europe, and not elsewhere! And btw, thank you for being so honest in all videos, Jon!

[@johnblack3204]

I didn't know this was a thing! Thanks for the entertaining and educational video

[@FrappeChan]

I love that you slowed down the background music too!

[@tipnsunny2107]

Well made video. Thanks for sharing, Jon

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

Dreamcast > PS2. 50Hz is almost unbearable after playing 60Hz. Another example of a game that works better in 50Hz is Alex Kidd In Miracle World. Control is less twitchy and more natural, and the slower music makes for a more catchy and soothing soundtrack.

[@weegeetime6494]

Play this in .8x speed for true authenticity

[@MGlBlaze]

Weirdly, the Mega Man II title screen music sounds pretty cool in the slowed down PAL release. But yeah, I didn't know better growing up, but now with the benefit of what I know now, it is very annoying to know so many of my old games weren't properly optimised. Sometimes even with some pretty impressive features removed; Gran Turismo 4's PAL releases don't give you the 1080i option at all. And you covered the PAL gamecube's lack of 480p output (at least, without some modifications. Swiss is a pretty nice softmod) But it was nice that some companies (like Rare, being a UK developer) did put the work in to fix the PAL releases.

[@Progressive.G]

One of the most important gaming videos ever put on KZbin 👍

[@anakingurka7647]

Love your channel so far keep it up man!

[@alec9001]

Loved the video, highly informative and I love your personality!

[@qhairullahrusyaidy]

I just stumbled across this channel. I like his rap, his voice is like any narrator documentary film and he's European. How do I want to pay this guy.