Sony Attempts To ‘Improve’ PS Plus PS1 Games, Makes Them Worse

Sony has attempted to fix some of the recent issues with the revamped PlayStation Plus PS1 games, but it seems to have just made things worse.

The new version of PlayStation Plus has begun to roll out across the world. But some players have noticed that even in NTSC locations, Sony is using arguably inferior PAL versions of PS1 games.. This means players are experiencing games in 25 frames per second, rather than the smoother 30FPS.

However, as reported by VGC, it seems like Sony is trying to make an attempt at fixing its mistake. A patch has been released which apparently has “improved PAL output.”

Sony has released a patch for a few PS1 Classics on the PS4/PS5 that "improves" the PAL output.

The patch upscales the PAL code to 60hz by blending frames.

But the technique has introduced these horrible ghosting artifacts.

Here's a before and after comparison.#ps5 #ps4 pic.twitter.com/S1yphRrKuQ

— Windy Corner TV – Robert (@windycornertv) May 27, 2022

But Twitter user windycornertv has pointed out that this has resulted in a very noticeable ghosting effect.

what does the problem look like?

Sharing what this looks like in a tweet, windycornertv showed some before and after looks now the patch is in effect. Before, everything looks nice and crisp. However in the after images, you can see a ghost effect on some of the objects.

What appears to have happened is Sony is using some kind of effect where frames are blended together to appear smoother. Digital Foundry noted this in their video covering the PS1 ports. 

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“They added frame blending to try to make up for the PAL frame rate, but this means that there’s a ghost trail behind every frame,” said reporter John Linneman in the video. “This does not make up for the low refresh rate of these PAL versions.“

While the inclusion of PAL versions is certainly disappointing, all is not lost. As the best PS1 game ever made, Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear To The Rescue, is included in the new PlayStation Plus service. 

The new service isn’t available in Europe just yet, we can expect it to launch around June 23.

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Featured Image Credit: Sony