The hardware launch of the year is just a week away, and the UK games industry expects Nintendo’s DSi to give retail a huge boost.

The handheld arrives in the UK on Friday, April 3rd, just as consumer spending ramps up ahead of the Easter weekend.

“Nintendo is hugely influential and retail uplift on hardware and software [after DSi’s launch] will make for industry growth,” said Codemasters CEO Rod Cousens.

“The cloud of recession is deep and widespread but the games industry, while affected, will be less so than others and the consumer is looking for a ‘feel good’ factor in their lives. Why not DSi? Nintendo has been masterful at broadening the market.”

An Atari spokesperson added: “For Nintendo, the Easter timing seems excellent and we certainly wish them every success.”

Morrisons’ games buyer Jon Biggs enthused: “We intend to launch the DSi across the entire Morrisons estate. I expect we will quickly sell out. It’s always exciting when a product breathes new life into the market.”

DSGi games buyer Peter Willis continued: “The DSi will be just as popular as DS. We already have one of our strongest ever pre-order executions in place.”