What gets more playtime; old favourites or new experiences?

[noobish hat]

Which games get the biggest share of your free time? Do you stick to old favourites that guarantee you a good time, or are you always searching out for new experiences, risking the bad eggs? I have recently tried to branch out a bit more, especially since there are many established classics (a lot of which I already own) that I haven't played yet. Nevertheless, some classics are calling me back for another playthrough, like Link to the Past, FFVII, and even Ocarina of Time (even though I clocked it again just a couple of months ago).

Handhelds are getting the most new play experience since commuting is dead time anyway, so nothing is lost compared to if I set up a console and sat down to some serious gaming with a new title. I think in the end though, I'm definitely in the 'old favourites' camp of gaming, and is a big reason I hardly ever play modern games (my 360 has sat untouched for about 4 months now).

[egparadigm]

I worry about whether playing "old favourites" is a waste of time. Last year I must have spent about 50% of my time re-playing games from the past like Banjo-Kazooie, Goldeneye and Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis. In the case of the latter two, I achieved something new: I completed Fate of Atlantis for the first time and I managed to beat GE on 007. But Banjo was basically a re-tread.

I also wonder about the same thing with sequels: why do I keep playing the same game or type of game over and over?

[Skull Commander]

I tend to like both. I will play new titles on the Wii and Xbox 360, but I spend a fair amount of time playing my Snes, Dreamcast, Neo Geo and PC engine. In some cases it's "new" (to me) old games, but in other instances I'm happy to play games that I'v finished many times (Marioworld, Mario Kart, Street Fighter titles).

[Soundwave]

Probably my old favourite games get far more playtime then my current pile.

But then my Old favourites are mostly made up of easy simple quick gratification games like Street Fighter 3 / Darkstalkers / Espgaluda / Souky / Ghouls & Ghosts / Batman Adventures etc.
Games I can pick up & play when I have a spare 20 minutes whereas everything in my current pile takes an age to get into & play properly so unless I'm there for the long haul I'll just crack the PS2/Saturn/SNES on get some quick action, shut down go out or spend time with the other half.

Modern gaming requires far too much time to be as entertaining as it used to be for me...I'm all for old classic simple run & gun/Beat em Up/Shoot Em Up/one on one Fighters then all this new fangled 30+ hrs to complete I just dont have the time I used to.

Neil

[Darwock]

I don't generally move too far from new games until I've rinsed them as far as I possibly can, so there usually wouldn't be much reason to go back to them except the nostalgia. I think that would make new games my answer, but the new games become the old games while I'm still playing (like Warhawk) so it's a bit hard to say.

I only REALLY go back if I'm in a real slump with nothing new to play. Partly this is because my skills can be razor sharp while I'm actively playing something, but when I go back after a long absence I may as well have never played it before.

I used to kick ass at DMC3 on DMD, it would be demoralising to play now and find out I'm hopeless again :/

[samanosuke]

I'm kind of confused by the question. Do you mean new experiences as in new games, or just games I've never played? If you do mean new games then I'd like to take back my vote as I have no consoles that are newer than my Xbox, and that's just for emulation.

I voted for both because I play old classics and 'new' old classics, i.e. games I haven't played before.

[noobish hat]

I mean games that are new to you (which of course includes newly released games as well). In my case, most of the 'new' games on my To Play list are still old games.

[samanosuke]

I mean games that are new to you (which of course includes newly released games as well). In my case, most of the 'new' games on my To Play list are still old games.

Oh right, that's okay then, I made the right choice.

I spit over new, new games!

[garrz32]

Modern gaming requires far too much time to be as entertaining as it used to be for me...I'm all for old classic simple run & gun/Beat em Up/Shoot Em Up/one on one Fighters then all this new fangled 30+ hrs to complete I just dont have the time I used to.

Am generally in the same frame of mind as Neil,I just don't have the time or the will to play modern games nowadays.

I love throwing a cart in my MD or Neo and having a quick 20 minute game,am still finding it fun and rewarding playing older titles(playing at the moment,,,chronicles of riddick,blazing star,rolling thunder 2).

I do have a ps3 and 360 but haven't played them for a while.

[JazzFunk]

I'm stuck on retro and 'last gen' consoles at present. I REALLY want to get a 360 and play Fallout 3 and GTA 4, but I haven't even got round to properly playing Morrowind:GOTYE and Fable:TLC on the old XB yet, let alone finishing God Hand, DMC3, and oodles more RPG/arcade adventurey stuff on the PS2. Damn, still got Majora's Mask on the GC Windwaker disc to even start playing yet - and I only got two thirds of the way through both Ocarina and Windwaker!!

I think I'm gonna drop this generation and catch up with it in a few years time when HDTVs are £50 and 360 games can be bought for a quid a pop.

[BigDeadFreak]

I'm in the exact same situation JazzFunk. I've slimmed down my retro collection and got rid of a lot of my last gen stuff but I've still got loads to play.

One advantage of waiting a year or so to play current gen stuff is that HDTVs still don't feel like the finished article. One of my housemates spent a fair bit on one and the colours were so washed out compared to my CRT that I really didn't see the appeal. Emperor's new clothes if you ask me.

[dotoko]

I seem to do ALL my gaming on PS3 at the moment. I've not touched anything retro, or my Wii now I come to think of it, since before christmas. That may change soon however as I don't do online gaming and you can only play a game's single player mode so many times.

[kyo_244]

Although I play a bit of everything, it has to be OLDIES all the way for me!! They take up like 70% of my gaming time!

With the exception of some new games that are retro at heart (Super Mario Galaxy, Street Fighter IV)

[kernow]

I suck at modern games, I find myself checking a faq all the time, even on normal difficulty. I don't know if its me, or that they are not intuitive and obviously more complex than older simple vintage stuff.

I think I'm getting old.

[Yakumo]

Recently i've been spending far too much time on the Wii with Dead Rising, 007, Castlevania Judgement and that new Sonic game comes out tomorrow so even more Wii time. Saying that I have also been giving a few old Dreamcast titles a going over the last few weeks. Last night I played DeSpiria for a good 5 hours!

Yakumo