Nintendo won’t abandon buttons

With tongues wagging about what Nintendo may have in store for its next machine, president Saturo Iwata has suggested that the Wii successor’s controller is unlikely to follow in iPad’s footsteps.

Speaking of the popularity of gaming tablets, he told investors: "I think it is an interesting device if it creates an experience that is in line with the trend created by Nintendo DS.

"On the other hand, we have never abandoned the + Control Pad and buttons for our game systems because we think these functions are advantageous when creating highly reactive games.

"In this meaning, I do not think Nintendo hardware will take on any of the current tablet forms as they are without buttons, to make our game devices. However, this is only when we consider tablets as game devices and, for other purposes, I think tablets are very interesting, and they are a form of hardware that will continue to grow."

The comments seem to invalidate rumours that the new console will use a touchscreen controller, unless of course that is combined with traditional controls a la DS.