PS1 The graphical difference between the first PS1 models and later ones

[ThunderBoy]

Did you know this?
Was it just a specific case with Tomb Raider, or did it happen with other games too?

The difference is very noticeable.

 

[Leon]

I didn't know this was even a thing, you'd think sony would have advertised it but i guess not.

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

that is crazy but so far only one game? Seems kinda fishy if you ask me.

 

[ZEGA ZONIC]

Seems cool.

 

[bjork]

I love the older looking version. Give me that Polygon Man-ass Lara Croft with the weird lighting 100 out of 100 times. Bonus points for texture warp.

 

[Scotty Scotty]

Never even knew that was a thing.

 

[Clippy]

Seems more likely that the game got a newer revision. Imagine if revising the hardware broke compatibility with games. Would be a nightmare for Sony.

Then again, I know they revised the hardware to try and combat piracy so who knows, maybe they tweaked display too.

 

[TruxtonTatsujin TruxtonTatsujin]

I think I've noticed this before but never really thought much of it. I've seen a similar difference between PS1 and PS2 in back compat mode. The PS2 probably uses the newer GPU so it might be the same thing mentioned here. I was playing Legend of Legaia and remember thinking it looked better on the OG PS1.

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

Seems more likely that the game got a newer revision. Imagine if revising the hardware broke compatibility with games. Would be a nightmare for Sony.

Then again, I know they revised the hardware to try and combat piracy so who knows, maybe they tweaked display too.

i think there is way to many variables with this. Is this the Greatest hits edition or the black label version? Doesn't seem like it tells us anything.

 

[mrrgrrgrr]

There's a reddit post from 4 years ago that goes into a bit more detail about this. It even references the same screenshots of Tomb Raider, and goes on to show that color banding was improved in other games as well. The new GPU also helped reduce lag in certain games, such as the animation for the summons in Final Fantasy VIII. Neat stuff.

 

[iamthemilkman]

Never knew this. I had the older one when I was a kid, but now I have a PSOne with the screen. I used to be able to find the older PS1's at flea markets and thrift shops all of the time for <$10, however the lasers almost always ended up being faulty.

 

[RageBurner]

Hm... I wonder if this affects emulation as well.