Since I'm not someone who'd buy NIB, I just play what I can find on location. Given that, I don't think I've ever really had a bad time playing a newer Stern game. In some locations where they'd have a mixture of 90s B/W games and new Sterns, the Sterns almost always play better (just because they're newer).

But then there are the rules. I can usually progress pretty deeply in the rules of a 90s B/W game on a regular basis these days--especially in arcades where the pf isn't smooth waxed and lightning fast. So if I play a game or two, I usually find myself exploring most of the games features and accumulate a replay or two, then I get bored and hand the replays to the kid behind me. On a Stern game, I almost NEVER get deep enough into the rules to max it out, so I find myself playing them more than I'd play a B/W. I see many people expressing the same thoughts when they have them in their collections: Deeper ruled Sterns hold people's attention much longer than the shallower rules of past.