Hardware Why PAL and NTSC difference?

[Rice923]

I was wondering why Nintendo came up with PAL, NTSC U and NTSC J versions of their games. Is there some kind of major differences between them? Also, I noticed that many people who have an NTSC U Wii are downloading the PAL Mario Kart, and some are having issues playing it. What advantage does PAL have over NTSC? Is it simply because Mario Kart came out in PAL first?

Sorry if this is some ridiculous question, but it was bothering me and I wanted to know

 

[lagman]

Well, PAL and NTSC are PAL the encoding systems used in different places of the world -Europe and Brazil PAL- -Pretty much anywhere else NTSC-

And yes, it's because Mario Kart Wii was released -and dumped- first in Europe, and we are all desperate to play it.

 

[Playset6199]

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[hanman]

NTSC is 60Hz....PAL is 50Hz. PAL has a slightly higher vertical resolution, too, i believe.

the reason, if memory serves, is that in PAL territories, their AC power is 50Hz, so they needed a 50Hz television system. NTSC territories use 60Hz AC power.