Well this is debatable. Considering Nintendo stuck with a controller at the time (2006) you could always assume that we are no way near the era of controller-less gaming. Nintendo arguably have more experience with innovation than any competitor or many other industries combined. Given the fact Nintendo might be regretting this decision though, MS might have actually introduced the next step, we still don't know for sure.
But from my view, and Nintendo's experience with adoption of new technology, i think were going to have controllers for a long time to come. Its almost way too far perceptually, and way too soon literally, to talk about VR environment interactions (ala Minority Report/Disclosure).
If 3D really does take off (big IF) not only will audiences have to "learn" to see differently with games but they will also have to guage new, and incredibly complicated, controls (what i mean is the rules of "normal behaviour" won't apply in all games you play on these systems, eg. cheating on Wii Sports or Red Steel not tracking your sword accurately).
“When we make some new announcement and if there is no positive initial reaction from the market, I try to think of it as a good sign because that can be interpreted as people reacting to something groundbreaking. ...if the employees were always minding themselves to do whatever the market is requiring at any moment, and if they were always focusing on something we can sell right now for the short term, it would be very limiting. We are trying to think outside the box.” - Satoru Iwata - This is why corporate multinationals will never truly understand, or risk doing, what Nintendo does.
