The revamped PlayStation Plus rollout continues today as the new service finally arrives in Europe. The rollout began in Asia last month, came to Japan at the start of June, and then hit the US shortly after. There has been plenty of confusion during these first few weeks, including which versions of the classic PS1 games included with PS Plus Premium subscribers will actually have access to. The 50hz PAL versions, or the superior 60hz NTSC ones.As subscribers in Europe get their first opportunity to take the new PS Plus for a spin, they'll discover most of the PS1 games available are the PAL versions. Video Games Chronicle has tested all 13 of the PS1 games on the service at launch and discovered seven of them are the PAL versions. However, Oddworld: Abe's Odysee and Tekken 2, which was briefly listed for $9999 on the PS Store, appear to be the NTSC versions.Don't cancel your subs and swear off PS Plus Premium forever just yet. PlayStation Europe has already issued a statement on the matter, and while it doesn't explain why the PAL versions have made the cut in Europe and the UK, it has revealed plans are in place to give subscribers the option to switch to the NTSC versions in various parts of the world. “We’re planning to roll out NTSC options for a majority of classic games offered on the PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe plan,” the tweet reads, listing Europe among many parts of the world where this plan will be instigated.
The worry that PlayStation would offer up the PAL versions as opposed to the NTSC ones began during the initial rollout in Asia. Countries like Taiwan got the PAL versions despite having NTSC support. While that doesn't make much sense, the leading theory surrounding the decision to go with PAL for some games in Europe is to do with language support. The NTSC versions of some PS1 games may not have language support in certain countries, whereas the PAL versions do.
The reaction to the new PS Plus continues to be mixed. On the one hand, the promise that other regions will get the option to switch between PAL and NTSC is good. On the other, it isn't as if this launch has been sprung on PlayStation out of nowhere. It had time to get its ducks in a row before this. The same applies to the subscription stacking and upgrade confusion that arose from its launch in Asia. That was thankfully a mistake that was swiftly resolved.