Unprecedented success of Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure leads to 403% increase in bowler hat sales...

Las Folio PR today announced what they are describing as an "unexpected" boost in the sales of the good old British Bowler, which, if early reports are to be believed, saw their "best weekend since 1974".

Rapidly heading into the history books as one of the top ten best-selling games of all time - racking up an impressive 4.5m worldwide sales in its first weekend - Hatsworth has become a modern day cultural phenomenon.

"The game's cutting edge take on the real life dilemmas faced by an elderly Victorian gent trapped inside a puzzle platformer has captured hearts and minds and bridged the generational gap." said Ian Bum, CEO of London millinery giant The Carhat Warehouse "His catchphrase 'what, what, what?' has naturally become a playground favourite, but we've had parents after a custom bowler for children as young as 18 months".

NowGamer has no reason to doubt these figures, although our own investigation has lead to the discovery of several inconsistencies. Speaking to Derek Fanny of monocle specialist Golden Cyclopse, we discovered a very different story. "Hatsworth has done nothing for us" he commented "Monocle sales have plummeted. I can only assume that in a tougher financial climate, bowlers are of far higher priority due to their nature as a fundamental necessity of modern living. Monocles on the other hand appear to be viewed as a luxury item. Of course, with very few customers able to keep their monocles on the crest of the ever-rolling wave of modern fashion, our business survives on the occasional sale of luxury diamond-encrusted monocles to action stars such as Marc Dacascos, Jason Statham and that one with the giant face".

Whether merely a blip, or the start of a global fad, NowGamer will be monitoring this development with keen interest.

To discover the socio-economic ramifications of this phenomenon, including everything you'll ever need to know about bowler hats, click here.