When classic PlayStation games were confirmed to be included in the new PS Plus tiers, many were hoping it would be the NTSC 60Hz ROMs that would be used for the titles rather than the inferior PAL 50Hz ROMS. Unfortunately, it seems like the classic games will use a mix of ROMS instead, with some confirmed to be based on the PAL 50Hz versions and others on the NTSC 60Hz versions.
Classic PlayStation games using PAL 50Hz
Ape Escape is one game that is using the European PAL 50Hz version. In a video by Twitter user The Marmolade, the PS4/PS5 emulated version was compared to an NTSC copy played on a Playstation console, and the NTSC version felt “much smoother”. Not all classic titles will run at PAL 50Hz, though. The Marmolade later confirmed that Tekken 2 was running at NTSC 60Hz, while Push Square also confirmed that Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee and Toy Story 2 were also using the NTSC 60Hz ROMs. Region availability doesn’t seem to affect the version offered either. Indonesia is a country that uses the PAL format while Taiwan uses NTSC, but both countries only have the PAL version of Ape Escape available.
Looks like PS1 classics are using 50hz PAL versions instead of NTSC. NTSC PS1 feels much smoother than emulated version. ??? pic.twitter.com/5q3kRn353h
— Andrew Marmo (@the_marmolade) May 23, 2022
This is a move from Sony that has left several unsurprised. When the PS Classic console was released at the end of 2018, that was found to be using PAL 50Hz ROMs too regardless of the region in which it was available. As the PAL 50Hz version doesn’t refresh as quickly, most developers managed to port their games to PAL regions mainly by making them run more slowly in both gameplay speed and frame rate, therefore many deem them to be inferior.
In other news, tomorrow’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla update will add customizable loadouts and an armory. Elsewhere, now that PS Plus Premium has launched in Asia, we have a full list of games included with the new PS Plus tiers.
