They very well could if it becomes necessary for disruption. Like kitler said, they have reverted all the way back to NES for some of their best-selling games this generation, so who's to say?

No. That makes no sense.

Thanks for stealing my snarky answer.

Jerk.

While I could be wrong, I think their next system will go "in both directions" at the same time ...

I remember reading an interview a couple of years ago where Miyamoto (effectively) said that he still saw value in buttons and analogue sticks but the Wiimote was designed with as few as possible (in each orientation) to force people to use motion controlls. While I wouldn't expect Nintendo to go to the other extreme, I could see them incorporating more buttions, sliders, analogue sticks, touch pads, or (pretty much) any conventional input device onto their controller if they thought it added value.

At the same time, Nintendo seems to be trying to maintain an asymetric market so that they're not in direct competition with anyone; and (as a result) I would expect them to do something different with their next system that no one else is in a position to try.

These are my thoughts as well.  I use the CCP for Goldeneye and COD: BO.

Nintendo will never go back with regular controllers.

this

however if op means as a primary source of controlling, probably not

Traditional controller? You mean the same controller that Nintendo changed about 10 times in the last 20 years?

And whats wrong with the nunchuk configuration? I like the fact that I can leave one controller still, while using the other controller to scroll menus and select options much quicker than usual (im pretty sure Sony liked this idea too).

Even if lets say, the next controller was a traditional two handed device, I would find it HIGHLY unlikely that the IR Pointer concept wasn't carried over in some capacity. Noone discusses it, bcoz motion takes all the headlines, but that innovation in the wiimote is one of the best contributions to controller designs ever.

Wii WAS the return to a regular controller. Put your Wii remote on it's side... And it's an NES controller.

If you put all of Nintendo's controllers in a row, the N64 controller looks like the one that abandoned "normal."

Game and Watch, NES, Game Boy, SNES, GBA, DS and Wii all have D-pad on the left, and buttons on the right, with no more buttons than ABXYLR. Only N64 and GC add the handle grips, downplay the D-pad for the analog stick, and have 7 or 8 buttons.

I hope the next console has a cross between a Wii remote and a SNES controller. Make something that can be a perfect standard for Wii Sports and Mario Bros. and I'm happy.

I just voted see results since they never really left the old controller to start with. There are Wii games that still work with cube controllers /shrug