Since launching the Xbox , Microsoft has purchased some notable developers and had serious talks to buy several others. Now it might have its eyes on a larger prize.

Founder and chairman Bill Gates has expressed interest in buying game giant Nintendo should the company put itself on the market, reports German magazine Wirtschafts Woche.

"If Hiroshi Yamauchi calls, he will be directly transferred to me," the magazine quotes Gates as saying at an unspecified analyst conference. Yamauchi is the former president of Nintendo and still owns a stake in the company.

The magazine goes on to paraphrase Gates as saying he would immediately make an offer if Nintendo shows a readiness to sell itself...