The amusement industry in New Zealand is suffering at the moment due to the outbreak of swine flu, which is spreading very quickly through the country.

According to Gary Walker of Coincascade, people are staying away from arcades as New Zealand’s health department moves into the management stage rather than containment, which saw numerous schools closed down.

However, there have been some positives for the sector - Guitar Hero has been on test generating income of around $500-800 a week and more units have now been ordered.

Technika has also tested successfully without memory cards or a web link and is apparently taking similar numbers, which Walker expects to increase with add-ons.

"We have been behind last year’s figures each passing month," said Walker, "Customer numbers are consistent with last year but people are not spending as much. There is talk that things will start to improve towards the end of this year but the $NZ is staying very high and this is bound to restrict any improvement, which must be export led."