The North American PlayStation Classic will use PAL version of some titles

The PlayStation Classic launches in a week, but a recent revelation has caused some former fans of the device to cancel their pre-orders. It turns out that the PlayStation Classic will use the PAL version of nine games on the PlayStation Classic, even in North America, an NTSC region.

The following games will use the PAL version:

• Battle Arena Toshinden
• Cool Boarders 2
• Destruction Derby
• Grand Theft Auto
• Jumping Flash!
• Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
• Resident Evil Director’s Cut
• Tekken 3
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six

The PAL versions of these games were made for PAL regions, primarily Europe, Australia, Brazil, and regions of Africa and Asia. PAL, or Phase Alternating Line, is a standard used for analog televisions that broadcasts at 50 Hz.

This may present a bit of a problem for North American gamers. North America is an NTSC region, which is a standard that broadcast at 60 Hz. Since PAL games were designed for TVs that refreshed 50 times a second, they were coded to operate at a slower speed compared to NTSC games. Running a PAL-based game on NTSC hardware typically results in the game running at a different speed than intended or otherwise glitching out (see the video below for an example).

This might result in the PAL PlayStation Classic games running at a different speed on North American televisions, which would require quite a bit of adjustment. Considering that some of these titles (like Tekken 3) require precise inputs and reflexive action, the format switch could render the games unplayable.

It should be noted that while emulators can carry over the PAL/NTSC incompatibility, most have options to force refresh rates. Unfortunately, this can cause other problems to rear their heads. All said, the use of PAL games may result in odd gameplay for North Americans.

The PlayStation Classic will be available for purchase December 3.

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