PAL vs NTSC-U vs NTSC-J: How Region Affects What a Game Is Worth

What the region labels mean

UK/PAL covers the UK, Europe and Australia. NTSC-U is North America. NTSC-J is Japan, and on MyPlayersVault it also covers the wider Asian releases. The names come from old television standards, but for collectors they now mean something simpler: which market a copy was made for, with its own box, manual, rating labels and print run.

What the numbers say

We took the price guide behind MyPlayersVault on 16 October 2026 and matched the same game on the same console across regions. Then we counted how often one region was more expensive than the other. Only games with a price of at least £5 in both regions were counted.

Price guide data from MyPlayersVault, 16 October 2026. “Dearer” means the first region in the row had the higher price. In the rest, it was cheaper or the same.

Read across the table and a pattern appears:

• PAL vs America: the PAL copy was dearer in only about 4 in 10 games. Most of the time, the American copy cost the same or more.
• Japan vs America: the Japanese copy was dearer in only about a third of games. Japanese copies are usually the cheaper option.
• PAL vs Japan: the PAL copy was dearer in well over half of games.

Why it isn't a rule: the rare version effect

Those percentages hide something important. When one region's version is the scarce one, the gap isn't small. It can be several times the price. Here are some examples among games that sell often in both regions, used and complete in box:

Used (complete in box) price guide values on 16 October 2026. Prices move, so check the live figures before you buy or sell.

The same game can swing either way. A PAL collector hunting the first three will pay a premium at home, while one hunting the last three may find the PAL copy is the bargain. The only way to know is to look up the exact regional release.

Live prices for two of them, side by side

These cards update every day with the same prices you'll see on MyPlayersVault.

Castlevania Symphony of the Night

PlayStation · UK/PAL

Sealed £1050 · Used £404

On MyPlayersVault →

Castlevania Symphony of the Night

PlayStation · NTSC-U

Sealed £541 · Used £144

On MyPlayersVault →

Worms Armageddon

Nintendo 64 · UK/PAL

Sealed £93 · Used £53

On MyPlayersVault →

Worms Armageddon

Nintendo 64 · NTSC-U

Sealed £1942 · Used £626

On MyPlayersVault →

MyPlayersVault also uses recent eBay sales, so these can differ from the price guide figures above.

Sealed and used don't always move together

In our comparison, PAL was dearer slightly more often for sealed copies (43%) than for used ones (39%). It's a reminder that a sealed copy and a used copy are really two different things to buy. That's why we always show both, side by side, rather than one “condition” price.

Before you import

• Will it play? Many older consoles only play games from their own region. Most modern consoles are more relaxed, but check your own console before buying.
• Language. A Japanese copy may only be in Japanese.
• Postage and import charges can wipe out a price difference.
• What you're collecting for. If you're completing one region's set, an import won't fill the gap on your shelf.

Check any game

Every game on MyPlayersVault shows its sealed and used value region by region, read from recent eBay and PriceCharting sales. Look up the exact release you're after before you buy.

Collector context, not financial advice. See How We Price for where our numbers come from.