Whelp.
PlayStation Plus first-party PS1 Classics in the new, tiered subscription system are seemingly — and exclusively — using PAL versions rather than speedier NTSC ones.
Sony’s own library of Classics currently available are presented in PAL’s 50Hz standard rather than NTSC’s 60Hz, meaning games run a lower frame-rates and speed than we’d likely expect.
“Most PAL games run at 83.3 per cent of the full-speed of the NTSC versions in terms of frame-rate, and most of the time in terms of actual gameplay speed too. Side-by-side with the NTSC equivalents, PAL versions are generally slow and plodding and don’t properly represent a US or Japanese developer’s original vision,” Digital Foundry said in an assessment. “There’s little consistency [on the PlayStation Classic], meaning that gameplay suffers from obvious stutter. It’s a really, really poor showing here.”
Third-party titles including Tekken 2, Syphon Filter, Oddword Abe’s Oddysee and Mr. Driller are running NTSC versions.
Sony has previously used a mixture of PAL and NTSC formats when it came to the mini PlayStation Classic. Similarly, Nintendo offers classic N64 titles inside the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription, and offers both PAL and NTSC versions to play.
We’ll update this story as we learn more of the situation.
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