James Mills is a web developer in the North East of England and founder of Refresh Teesside »
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Karen McLauchlan is the Evening Gazette's deputy business and features editor - with special interest in all things industry, property and arts related » 
Jeremy Middleton is a venture capitalist and the co-founder of FTSE-200 company HomeServe » 
Deloitte, which has 23 offices across the UK including Newcastle, is among the country's leading professional services firms » 
ClimateNE & Climate Change Schools Project support the move to a low-carbon, resilient economy and help businesses avoid risk and realise commercial opportunities. Posts by Jen Atkinson, Krista McKinzey and Harriet Thew » An industry which could strengthen the future economic force of the UK is about to slip through our fingers - and the Government seems content to let it happen.
There was a time when the North East was well on the way to becoming a international hotbed for video games development.
Companies large and small flourished as big-hitting titles made in the region were distributed around the world.
However, survival in the market has become increasingly difficult as governments overseas - mainly in France and Canada - offer tax breaks and subsidies to bring games developers to their doorstep.
Meanwhile in the UK the Government remains largely indifferent and its ongoing lack of support for an industry which thrived in the nineties, could cause the untimely death of a burgeoning British sector.
The North East's recognition as a champion of game development has long been bulit around a trinity of famous names - Midway, Ubisoft and Eutechnyx.
But this week one of those gaming titans was felled as its American owner wrapped up its operations in Gateshead.
The closure of the Midway studio, and the loss of 74 jobs, came after its American owners filed for bankruptcy which left North East bosses with just weeks to find a buyer for the studio.
No buyer came and its fate was sealed - but why would a prospective international buyer come to the UK anyway, when it can run things at a fraction of the price on the Continent or across the pond?
The key difference between the UK and Canada and France is one of attitude. In Britain violent games titles, such as Grand Theft Auto, have given the games industry a bad reputation among those in authority. In contrast, Canada sees games merely as part of the entertainment sector, on a par with TV and film.
There is hope for us yet - Eutechnyx and Ubisoft are still going great guns, while there are plans for the creation of new businesses in the aftermath of the Midway closure.
Hopefully out of the ashes of disaster, a new mass-employer will grow.
In the meantime, we can only hope that the Government wakes up to the value of an industry which could power the UK's economy forward when the clouds of recession finally clear.
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