It's pretty well known that Nintendo has a pretty good grip on the games market. The most recent sales announcement from the company showed that their handheld division alone outsold all next-gen consoles combined for the month of June. Games that they released two years ago (Wii Fit, Wii Play, etc.) still find their way to the top of NPD charts month in and month out. There's no disputing that, although most hardcore gamers have disdained Nintendo's recent releases, the general public can't get enough. But for Nintendo of America's senior director of product development, Tom Prata, there's still room for growth.

Speaking at the Casual Connect conference in Seattle, Prata stated that he believes that the market share for console gamers, which currently stands at 295 million, could increase by another 150 million (or 50 percent), "if the right game came along".

While 150 million new gamers may sound like an impossible dream, one should be careful to doubt the potential of Nintendo. Haters bash the Wii all day long on forums and websites, while soccer moms and retirees plunk down countless dollars for any shovelware game that happened to be featured on the Today show. It's hard to imagine what single game could propel gaming into the next stratosphere, but if anyone can make it happen, it's probably Nintendo.

[Via GI.biz]