NTSC vs PAL game storage

PAL game storage has always been a bit of a nightmare. I used to have to store my games in a box, as I couldn't afford the storage racks back when they were on sale in Electronics Boutique. I finally got some on eBay...


... and they can stack on each other too! This saves even more space. Unfortunately, I have only got 3 of these racks (totalling £11.50 though - not bad) and they hold 10 games each. I had 52 games as of this post, but I have about 64 now... so I still have some in a box.

At least this way I can put my favourite PAL games close to my mini games centre here in my bedroom. I can then play backups and Japanese games in the lounge on on of the other Dreamcasts.

Japanese games on the other hand, like their American counterparts, come in standard CD jewel cases most of the time, allowing for easy and sexy(?) storage.


Some people have used this storage issue as an additional reason to get NTSC games, and leave the PAL ones alone with their big, bulky cases, which disintegrate if in contact with air or even when just being looked at.

Share your Dreamcast storage woes! Share tips and ideas! Do PS1 game racks hold DC PAL game cases? Share your thoughts, dig deep into your heart.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thats a pretty nice set up.

I use a CD rack for my DC games as well.

Barry the Nomad said...

I used to have my ntsc Dreamcast games in a desktop CD rack, it held about 20 cases. Larger cases, web browsers and demo disc sleeves sat lined up along the side.
It was a sweet setup, but having moved thrice during college and finally into a semi-permanent apartment I now carry the discs in a Dreamcast CD case and left the empty cases in storage at my parents house.

Animated AF said...

If you saw my collection video from a while back you'd know that to save room with my PAL games I often fit two games into one case: as long as one of the manuals is a thing one without 20 languages in it, you can fit everything in. I like the Japanese cases best though, so a lot of my PAL games were replaced with those (if the game doesn't have much Japanese text in it anyway). Whenever I get PAL games from boot sales etc they are always broken in some way.

Animated AF said...

Ohyeah, I have two of those PAL racks you have there (one of them is a bit broken though), but I don't use them because I have that blue CD shelf thing for all of them.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about the Japanese games being the same as the US games... My Japanese DC game inserts will not fit in a standard US Jewel case?

I'm in the process of putting them all in White DVD cases with custom printed art :)

Tom Charnock said...

I've got well over 150 games for my DC so I keep all the cases in a big box at my sister's house and keep the GDs in a soft DJ-style thing at mine. Exploitation of siblings in the battle to save space! I agree that the PAL cases are gash though - I'd say 75% of mine have broken hinges or are cracked in some way. The NTSC cases are way, way better. I wonder who came up with the stupid idea for the PAL cases...?

マーティン said...

I guess it's having to cater for so many languages that means we need larger cases...

Ujn - project sounds interesting. Most Japanese games and American games fit into a standard jewel case though...

I am still wondering if I go for the full set...

Animated AF said...

Ujn: some Japanese game have thicker manuals and slightly tricker cases to accommodate them. About 1 in 10 of my Japanese games are like this, mostly Capcom fighters. The real snag with these is if one of said cases go broken you can't buy new cases like them anywhere, I've looked everywhere. =/

Anonymous said...

@GagaMan(n): Thanks. That must be the problem I have as most of my Japanese games are Fighting games, and I had tried to fit them into Standard Jewel Cases with no success. :(

Caleb said...

Since the bulk of my collection are Japanese and NA releases I keep most of them in padded cases.

NebachadnezzaR said...

I actually like the PAL cases. Sure, they're ginormous and break easily, and maybe it's just the nostalgia talking, but I think they're pretty and original.

Having that said, I don't have that many PAL games nowadays, so storage is not really a problem.