PS Plus: 50Hz versions instead of 60Hz for Sony’s classic games

Some of the new classic games available with the new PlayStation Plus Premium appear to be based on the slower 50Hz versions of the PAL regions.

As part of the reboot of PlayStation Plus in Asia, corresponding PS1 and PSP games are now available there.

Sony relies on 50 Hz

A user playing the PS1 version of Ape Escape from the Indonesian PlayStation Store first noticed that it appears to be the PAL version. In the intro, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is specified there and the game runs at 25 fps instead of 30 fps.

All other first-party games for the PS1, including Everybody’s Golf, Wild Arms, Jumping Flash and Kurushi, are also based on the PAL versions, such as VGC approved.

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Third Party Differences

However, there are differences with the classic third-party titles. Worms World Party and Worms Armageddon also use the PAL versions, while Tekken 2, Siphon Filter, Abe’s Oddysee and Mr. Driller are based on the NTSC versions.

In theory, since Indonesia uses the PAL format, it wouldn’t be surprising to find PAL versions there. However, according to the VGC, this also applies to Taiwan, which in turn uses the NTSC format. It seems to indicate that Sony is predominating in the PAL versions for its own classic games.

It was similar with the PlayStation Classic console, which was released in 2018. Many games used the 50 Hz versions, even in non-PAL markets.

When PlayStation Plus launches in other regions soon, we’ll see how it fares there. For example, if North America also gets the PAL versions, the fans there probably won’t be so happy with it.