CVG

Nintendo made buttons seem like the enemy of accessibility when it revealed the motion-controlled Wii Remote back in 2005, which offered very few of them for developers to work with. Now Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata says Nintendo isn't ready to let go of the traditional gaming input.

Nintendo's next home console controller will feature a six-inch touch screen,CVG sources and several subsequent reports have suggested, but Iwata assures gamers Nintendo won't be ditching buttons in favour of a tablet-style (iPad-like) touch-screen only mechanic. 

"Whenever we make a new game console, we've done it without throwing away buttons and the directional pad," said Iwata in a recent investor's Q&A (via Kotaku). 

"The reason for that it's better to have them, because buttons and directional pads benefit gameplay response," he added. 

"Taking this into account, Nintendo isn't planning on completely ditching buttons, nor is Nintendo thinking of taking tablets as they are today and implementing them in a game console."

Fitting he would say that now, considering rumours suggest Nintendo's next console, set for reveal at E3, will have two analogue sticks and eight buttons. Oh yes. 

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/299754/news/iwata-wii-2-wont-implement-button-less-tablets/

Good news, seriously I can't imagine gaming on buttonless touchscreen. 

Good. They would have to be crazy to pump up the cost of the system with those.

Good since that would turn me off the console unless it was getting Skies of Arcadia 2 then I might consider getting it..

More and more, all statements by Iwata seem to be pointing to Nintendo making more of a traditiona, graphic focused console.  And I'm very happy about that.

A standard 8-10 button controller would be best in my opinion.  It can even have motion controls like the Wii built in.  If they can put a sensor hole on the side of a Wii Wheel, they can do the same with a standard controller.

I'm actually hoping for a controller similar to the gamecube.  All the buttons were in the perfect spot and it was so comfortable I could play games all day without my hands getting tired.

I thought the tablet idea was far too clunky of a design for Nintendo's tastes. Of course this STILL raises questions about what the hell they're doing.

no buttons would suck, well I guess I haven't played kincet yet so i can't say for sure if no buttons would be bad, but just a touch screen would be annoying - i know that for sure

Virtual Boy 2.0.  This time with a Powerglove attachment.

This is kinda true.  As much as DS was a good idea and I liked the touch screen, most of the games that used nothing but the touch screen were annoying.  I mean, just look what it did to Zelda.

About the only games I could say were good that utilized only the touch screen was Kirby's Canvas Curse, Warioware Touched and Osu! Tadakae! Ouendan!  And ironically, they were out in the first year of the DS.

There were alot of other good games that implemented the touch screen control really well like professor layton, but I'm glad they are sticking with more traditional controller. as for a screen on the controller itself, I think it would work if the screen was like the ds, a small screen providing key information or inventory controls in real time without having to pause the game.

Seems obvious. I have a hard enough time trying to figure out what good a screen in my controller will do as it is, without having to use my eyes to find the controls. Seems like a big distraction. Dual-screen works on a handheld because the screens are right next to each other.

I get how Cafe will be valuable as a game server that streams games to your handheld thin client. Mario Kart with no need to split the screen, fantastic.

What I don't get is how it can add value to a single-player game being played in the living room, which is still a fundamental job for any game console. This seems like an even bigger bet on social play than the Wii was.