Can you play American PC games on a british PC?

Answer 1

I think PC games will be fine.

For console it depends. Which console? PSP, DS and PS3 are region free (although some PS3 games are region locked, most aren't)

For PS1 or 2, gamecube, xbox, Xbox 360 and Wii you will not be able to play American games on a British console. This is because American games are in NTSC, in Japan they are NTSC-J and Europe, Asia and Australia games in in PAL. France also have SECAM.

Some games for them consoles are not region locked, but almost all of them are.

NTSC runs at 60hz and PAL at 50hz and although now you can get PAL60 NTSC is not compatible with most European consoles.

You can get mods for your console to allow them to play, but this is illegal and not worth doing - it can be damaging to your console, void your warranty and for things like xbox LIVE you will most likely be banned.