When the new tiers of PlayStation Plus were introduced earlier this year–Essential, Extra, and Premium/Deluxe–fans of the PlayStation platform were particularly excited about the prospect of going back to revisit several of the classic games that have graced the various PlayStation consoles over the years. What players weren’t happy to learn when the service launched, however, was the fact that several games were running at the less than optimal 50Hz PAL version, a version that runs 20% slower than the NTSC 60hz versions used in the US and other parts of the world. Now, it seems as though PlayStation has heard the feedback that fans have delivered, and changes are being made.
To Sony’s great credit, they confirmed shortly after the wave of feedback arrived that they would endeavor to address the concerns that players had. Now, it seems like the talk has quickly turned into action with the now-available Syphon Filter 2 offering players the ability to toggle between either 50Hz PAL mode or 60Hz NTSC mode. This is a far better approach than what we’ve seen so far with titles such as Jumping Flash, where Sony applied a patch that “improved PAL output,” which tried to lift the refresh rate of the game but also created a ghosting effect that plagued it. Video Games Chronicle has done the hard yards though, having captured a screenshot that highlights the ability to switch between 50Hz and 60Hz in the case of Syphon Filter 2.
The launch of PS Plus was a bit confusing when it comes to the refresh rate situation. Titles such as Tekken 2, Mr. Driller, and Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee all supported 60Hz play, while Ape Escape, Everybody’s Golf, Jumping Flash, Kurushi, Syphon Filter, Wild Arms, and Worms World Party were all the 50Hz versions. Whether Sony intends to not simply patch the game but rather make a default NTSC version available remains to be seen, but for now, launching with NTSC versions first and foremost is a fantastic start, and then the process of fixing those PAL versions can begin.
In other PS Plus news, titles such as Dino Crisis have been spotted on the Hong Kong PS Plus Classics page, while the number of games coming to the service across all PlayStation Platforms continues to increase, the September drop that occurred today included titles such as Deathloop, Assassin’s Creed Origins, Watch Dogs 2, Dragonball Xenoverse 2, Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, Rayman Legends, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition, as well as classics including the aforementioned Syphon Filter 2, The Sly Collection, Sly Cooper Thieves In Time, and Toy Story 3.
