Sony fans have had mixed feelings since the announcement of the PlayStation Classic, due in part to its selection of games. However, concerns are now being raised by gamers that could pose even more problems for players, and this time it's due to how the games will look and perform.
Mark Julio, who is known for his work with EVO and Mad Catz, reported some disconcerting evidence that the PlayStation Classic is displaying a reduced refresh rate for some of its twenty classic PlayStation games. According to Julio, Tekken 3 is displaying the same lag that the original PAL release suffered from back in 1998 due to having a refresh rate of 50Hz. Unfortunately, this problem has been spotted on the U.S. release of the PlayStation Classic, despite the fact that the original NTSC releases in the U.S. ran at 60Hz.
Sony has since revealed that Battle Arena Toshinden, Cool Boarders 2, Destruction Derby, Grand Theft Auto, Jumping Flash!, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Resident Evil Director's Cut, Tekken 3, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six are all based upon their original PAL releases. This could mean that all of these games will have the same problem.
At the time of the PlayStation 1, a lower refresh rate for PAL territories was the standard. Due to different electrical standards in the U.S. and Europe and the technology of the time, different TVs worked at different refresh rates in the two regions. However, that's all changed in the many years since, and refresh rates for televisions and monitors now often far exceed this limit.
Sony has not offered an official reason for choosing the PAL versions for the PlayStation Classic's games. The console's release has already concerned some fans when it was discovered that the PlayStation Classic is using an open-source emulator to run its games. With the system trying to follow in the success of the NES Classic and SNES Classic, it's possible that the company is rushing to get the PlayStation Classic out the door. Using European versions of the games that were originally released with multiple languages will likely shave off some work for Sony, but it may ultimately create an unpleasant experience for the fans who are waiting to get their hands on the system.
The PlayStation Classic will release on December 3rd.