A new game in a franchise you've never played comes out. Because you want to play it, do you go back and play the older games first?

wow.. I can't even spell yes.
 forgive me if this was already asked before.

Depends on how much it focuses on story

Depends but usually no.

 I generally do if the genre of said franchise is story-driven. If it's just a game that I could have fun without knowing the story like Bad Company 2(multiplayer) or Luminies 2(puzzle game with no story) then yes I'll go straight to the new and improved sequel. But if it is story driven like the Mass Effect trilogy or the Phoenix Wright games then I will play the first and go on from there.

Absolutely. If it's something like Final Fantasy where it doesn't really matter if you've played the other ones, I won't worry about it at all. If it's something like Metal Gear Solid, I'll absolutely play them all in order.

It depends on how recent and well reviewed the previous game is. Oh, and how relevant it is to the sequel.

Not usually.  For example, I have played through Uncharted 2, but have not even touched the first game.

Usually. If it's something like Gran Turismo, then no I'm not gonna back and play Gran Turismo 3 and 4. But if it's not a sports related or non-story related game, usually. Saints Row 2 for example, I just went in without playing the first. Yakuza 3 though, I a picked up Yakuza 1 and will go through that and 2 first.

Missing option: Depends on the game. If reviews make it seem like I absolutely have to have played to first to have any idea about what's going on, then yes. Otherwise no.

Yes but it depends.   
  
If they are tied together, like Digital Devil Saga, then yes I do.  If they are more stand-alone games like FF or most SMT games, then I don't go back.  Though I've played every SMT and FF game anyway, so that's a moot issue. 
 
It's why I will probably never play ME2, because I was playing through ME1 first and the game just stopped working on me. 

Usually, So long as the game isn't that old.

yes, if the storylines of all the games are related.

To me it depends on how old the original games are. Basically if they're not this gen, i don't play em.

Yes, almost always, unless we're talking a massive franchise, or unless the games are independent/self-standing. The Final Fantasy franchise is a good example of both special factors.

I always find it necessary to play the older games.  I may not necessarily play them first if I've been impatiently waiting for the game to come out (FFXIII) but I think its important to revisit franchises to see how the games have evolved.  For instance, the Super Mario Bros. series.  We've all played at least one Super Mario game, and from that game alone we know the story.  But its still pretty cool to go back and look at Super Mario Bros. 3, then play New Super Mario Bros. Wii and see which elements from the original back in 1990 (??) were used in the Wii version almost 20 years later.  Final Fantasy is a perfect example.  Everyone who has played one of those games knows that there is only one direct sequel to any of them and that's X-2.  But the job system, the battling, the experience system, the magic system, among many other elements were all built on as the series has grown.  So while for story's sake I know it's not crucial to play games that aren't direct sequels, I think if you're a true gamer it's important to see where your favorite games today were derived from.

"Yakuza 3 though, I picked up Yakuza 1 and will go through that and 2 first. "

If it's a direct sequel, I will usually want to play the games in order, yes.

depends.

Well i bought the GOW collection just cause 3 came out and I've never played one before. Running through the first..already annoyed though it's got some old video game design choices that are long extinct like "guess what im thinking" where i wander about for half an hour trying to figure out what the dev wants me to do.

Almost always yes, but it depends on the series and if there's actually any continuity between them. Like with FF most of the games have nothing to do with each other, same with Dragon Quest, SMT (to an extent), Monster Hunter, etc. And with those games I don't really give a shit. But if the story is built up from game to game, I'll force myself to play the series in order.

Almost always no, actually. I played through Gears 2 before I ever played through Gears 1, and I skipped Halo 2 before playing Halo 3. But if it's for an RPG franchise that heavily relies on successive sequels, like Kingdom Hearts or Tales of Symphonia, then yes, but chances are I would've started with the first game in that franchise anyway if I cared enough about it.

Typically yes. I am even doing it with the Final Fantasy (next up: IV)
But I don't plan to with Splinter Cell, and I didn't with Suikoden.

Normally I wouldn't, but I did borrow Mass Effect 1 from my brother before I bought Mass Effect 2 only because I found out that elements of the story change if you import your saved game.

It depends on the story continuity.

Yeas

Nope! I'll go back to the originals if I find the story interesting and want to know more or see how things got to where they are.

Depends, I plan on playing SC: Conviction without playing any previous installments, mostly because one of the main points of the new game is it's not typical splinter cell, and I wasn't interested in old splinter cell.
On the other hand, I have gone back and played games like Lost Planet because of the sequel coming out. 
It's mostly based on the type of game and how many releases there are, If there is a series with only one game and a sequel, I'm more likely to play that then even just the previous game in a franchise with 12 releases.

God of war 3 was my first God of War game...in short: no

wow that title was long, (and great).

Generally not. If I read reviews and they tell me that it's really important to play the previous game first, then maybe I'll do that.

Definitly started with MGS3 which was a prequel then played 1 and 2. Best game series ever.

yeas

I did it with God of War, but since that is kind of required with the new collection and all it might not count... Since I got my claws on the Splinter Cell Conviction Limited Collector's Edition I wish I had played the earlier Splinter Cell-titles, but I can't now. I hate that feeling of not actually knowing anything about the characters, who they are and their history with the main character. I am constantly asking my self :"do these people have a story?" "is this a new char or a returning char?". Hate that. 

I would like to.  The problem is I'm not going to buy a system just because of it.  Example.   When I pick up a PS3 I'm going to want to play MGS4.   Metal Gear Solid 1,2 and 3 are on PS2.  I don't own a PS2. I'll probably just watch a play through on youtube or something.  I know they are great games but I'm not spending $100 for a console and then another $30 for the games and then have it sit there.   

Sometimes.  For some games that I feel that I need to know the storyline to fully enjoy it, I'll either play the past game(s) in the series or, if that's not possible, read up on the plot. 

No.  I bought and played Uncharted 2 without playing Uncharted.

If it is same generation I probably will. If not then 'nao'.  BUT I will read a synopsis.  I spent a while reading an in depth synopsis for Metal Gear before playing Patriots......though after playing I wish I hadn't.......read it.....or played it.

Depends, but usually not.  For example, I never played ME1 before ME2, so a month before ME2 came out I played ME1 just because I knew it was going to be a great game and story focused.  Fallout 3 on the other hand I didn't go back and play 1 and 2.

This actually happened to me.  I wanted Gears 2, but I missed out on Gears 1.  So i bought both of them and realized that I didn't NEED to play the first one....  but if it had been something like Mass Effect I would've gotten the first one first.

If it's not too old, then yaes.

First thing I thought: Holy crap that's a long topic name!

Longest thread title ever. Also it depends, I'm playing through God of War III right now, and that's alright. However I played through Uncharted and Assassin's Creed before going at the sequels.

Currently doing so with Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed

Depends on the game entirely. But that doesn't really happen to me all that much.

I'd say no but it depends on the game.

Depends. I don't plan on doing it with splinter cell but I did it with Metal Gear.

If the games in the series are all there own separate stories, then probably not. If it is one big story arc though, then yes I will.

If the franchise has been critically hailed, i might play the original games first before the new game comes out. But if the franchise has been very mediocre and the new release is a surprisingly good game i might only play the new game rather than the previous games in the franchise.