PS2 titles on PS4 will be upscaled from 50 to 60Hz in Europe

PlayStation 2 titles played on the PlayStation 4 will be upscaled from 50 to 60Hz in Europe. This creates problems with rendering, which makes the pal versions of games work less well than the ntsc versions.

This is according to research by Eurogamers Digital Foundry. A test of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas showed that the pal version works less well than the ntsc version. This is because both use their regional versions. The European games for the PlayStation 2 were optimized for the European 50Hz standard, while the ntsc versions were made for 60Hz. To better match the standard for European television, pal games for the PlayStation 2 were fixed at 25fps. This was better for the 50Hz TVs, as it allows each frame to be shown twice per second. However, the PlayStation 2 emulator on the PlayStation 4 runs at 60Hz and therefore does not connect well to the already existing game data.

While investigating the differences between the original PlayStation 2 titles and the emulated versions for the PlayStation 4, it became apparent that there were issues with display due to frame pacing and frame combinations. Frame pacing determines the rate at which frames follow each other and can also duplicate frames to regulate the rate. In games this is noticeable by stuttering and skipped images. Frame combinations are new frames created by mixing other added frames.

The problems arise because Sony has chosen to release the original versions for each region. Combined with the emulator’s 60Hz display, this works for the ntsc areas, but it’s not optimal in Europe. Sony has chosen to use the original versions for a reason. Many games have been translated in Europe and censorship is also handled differently than in the ntsc areas. This makes it faster and easier to emulate these versions of the games instead of translating the ntsc versions.