This morning, the official PlayStation Europe Twitter account announced Sony will be releasing NTSC versions for many of their classic games across various regions. This comes after PlayStation’s launch of their new tiered subscription plan in the US. It was reported that many of their PS1 games were PAL versions even if they lived in an NTSC region.
So, what is the difference between NTSC and PAL? NTSC broadcasts display 525 interlaced lines of color and display 30 frames per second. PAL broadcasts display 625 interlaced lines of color and displays at 25 frames per second. NTSC also refreshes at 60Hz, while PAL refreshes at 50Hz. Essentially, this means while PAL is capable of higher resolution, it refreshes less frequently causing slower, choppier game play.
For fans who grew up in the NTSC territories, this means a stark difference in gameplay quality than what they might have experienced when the games first released. This is because many popular games were developed in the US or Japan back then. Both of these countries are NTSC territories, so for many this is a downgrade in quality.
Luckily, PlayStation hopes to remedy this by releasing NTSC versions of their classic games sometime in the future. As of right now, we do not have an exact date or time frame for when to expect these updates. PlayStation Europe’s tweet was also states “a majority of classic games” will be rereleased–meaning not every game will be revamped either.
We’re planning to roll out NTSC options for a majority of classic games offered on the PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe plan in Asia, Europe, Middle East, India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand regions. More PlayStation Plus info: https://t.co/KkPZyUdUd7
— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) June 23, 2022
Sources: PlayStation Europe Twitter Page