Note: This article gives the technical reasons for this loss of speed and presents the solution that allows you to find the 100% original gameplay. 

(Automatically translated into English) The origin of this loss of speed goes back to the time when video standards were called Ntsc, Pal and Sécam. This slowdown in the speed of the Atari 2600 affected the entire Pal-Sécam area of the world (in green on the map opposite). The reason is due to the frequency of screen scanning: in the United States, where the Atari 2600 was born, cathode ray screens scanned 60 images per second, in accordance with the frequency of the territorial electric current: this is the standard. NTSC (in red on the map opposite). In most of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, screens scanned 50 images per second, again because of the frequency of the electric current: these are the Pal and Secam. With 60 frames per second, against 50, the Ntsc games went 20% faster than those of Pal and Sécam. 

(Automatically translated into English) Even if this is the origin of the cause of the slowdown in the Pal and Sécam games, the facts exposed so far are not sufficient to explain this slowdown. Indeed, the other consoles, despite their various regionalizations do not present this difference in frequency: whatever the region, the games go at the same speed. So why the Atari VCS does it differently? Here's the reason: unlike other consoles, the Atari 2600's GPU does not have video memory, so it has to draw on the screen, while the CRT electron gun scans. . As a result, during the entire display of the screen, the program is fully occupied in drawing the image and this, at a rate of 60 times per second in Ntsc (and 50 times for a game in Pal version and in Secam) . It is only after having swept the whole screen that the program can take care of the management of the events (observation of the joystick, movement of the sprites, increment of the score, etc.) which is done, again 60 times. per second in Ntsc and only 50 times in Pal, as well as in Secam. It is precisely this last point, the frequency of event management, which produces a decrease in speed between Ntsc games and Pal-Sécam games. 

(Automatically translated into English) Obviously, for a game to work well, the program must be adapted according to the scanning frequency of the target country. The Atari games were therefore designed by the developers in two versions. The first was adapted to the NTSC standard at 60 frames per second. The second was a 50 fps conversion, with slower gameplay. This second version, dedicated to Pal territories, was marked with a "P". At the beginning it appeared on the edge of the cartouche, next to the title (see opposite). Later, it was found marked on a label stuck on the cartridges (and sometimes on the cardboard boxes). Due to their common frequency of 50 Hz, Pal consoles and Sécam consoles use the same cartridges. This is why in France, our Atari cartridges are marked with a "P" although the French standard has been Sécam. 

(Automatically translated into English) Rest assured, if you put a cartridge of a video standard (Ntsc, Pal or Secam) in a console of another standard, your console will not explode. On the other hand, you will get amazing colors, as in the case of Pitfall (see this article). In rare cases, if you are using a very old television, you will have a black and white image (remember to activate the "Color / black & white" button, as this sometimes suffices to circumvent this problem).

(Automatically translated into English) With current multistandard screens, capable of supporting all kinds of scanning frequencies, it is possible to operate cartridges of different frequencies (50 or 60 Hz) on consoles of NTSC, Pal or Sécam standards. Whatever your console, all you have to do is find your favorite NTSC original edition game to enjoy the best gameplay on Atari 2600. Even if the colors do not necessarily match, the Gameplay will be on top!