Anaylsis: APB failure doesn't mean the end of the industry

I THINK there are a number of reasons why APB - All Points Bulletin did not prove popular. First and foremost, the massive multi-player online game is a notoriously difficult type of game to launch.

It is not a question of putting games in boxes in the shops. You have got to sell it and then you have to go on supporting it. You have not only got to carry on supporting the game, you have find out from your players what is working and not working and keep your development team constantly updating the game.

Even the big multi-player hit, World of Warcraft, didn't have the adulation it has now when it first appeared.

Realtime was also trying to do something that is well outside the recognised limits of that genre.

Whereas games like World of Warcraft tend to focus on fantasy or sci-fi scenarios, this was taking it into a contemporary and urban environment like Grand Theft Auto, and that requires an awful lot more processing power and accuracy. If you are driving around and shooting at people, exactly the same is happening on other computers anywhere else in the world. It is a very, very stiff technical challenge.

This is by no means the end of the industry in Scotland.

Obviously Realtime is a very high-profile failure, because it was such a flagship.

However, the games industry is no longer just the mainstream PC and console markets. It is evolving in a massive number of directions, and most of the exciting things happening right now are happening outside the traditional gaming area - such as the iPhone, the iPad and online games you can get on Facebook.

And Scotland has been a pioneer in all of these areas.

• Brian Baglow is a Scottish-based computer expert and has worked in the industry for 15 years.