Are you into role-playing games or first-person shooters? According to our investigation, your choice of game could be down to where you live...
Paul Rose

There was this Englishman, Irishman, Scotsman, American, Japanese bloke, some fella from Russia, a West Indian, a Pakistani, an Italian and an Australian in a pub. Oh, and a Brazilian and a Welshman. And a Chinaman. Anyway, they were in this pub, right, and the Englishman says, "Have you noticed how different we all are?" and the Scotsman says, "Aye. We all like different things and behave differently, and some of us even look different from each other."

"That's right, comrade," says the Russian. "We're all completely different, and as a result you all scare the crap out of me." Up pipes the Welshman: "Indeed. Political correctness is a load of arse. Let's face facts here - we're not all the same under the skin."

"Yes," agrees the Chinaman. "Let's have a war."

It's not meant to be funny.

But anyway, videogames are an ideal way of demonstrating the differences between our foreign neighbours and ourselves. Even the French have their own tastes in gaming, notably anything featuring the Smurfs, Tin Tin or Asterix, who the pious French regard as animated gods. Actually, that isn't completely true - take a look at Outcast, Another World or Flashback and you'll see that the French have a particular affection for action/adventure games with a strong story. Even better if it's an action/adventure game with a strong story about Tin Tin, Asterix or the Smurfs.

But what of those three cornerstones of the videogaming community, America, Japan and the UK? A quick glance at their respective sales charts suggests that their tastes are radically different. Can this really be the case? And if so, what is it that we all like?