One can only hope for more pulsing blue lights.

Given the continued success of Apple 's touch-based iOS devices and rumors Nintendo 's forthcoming successor to the Wii will include a screen on its mysterious controller, many have rightly wondered if Nintendo would consider following Apple down the patch of touch and motion-based only controls for games.The short answer: no.The longer answer comes from a translated question-and-answer between Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and analysts, following Nintendo's disclosure of its fiscal results.== TEASER == "Regarding the format you referred to as 'tablet,'" said Iwata, "which has a certain big screen and allows users to directly touch it, when we look at it from the viewpoint of 'developing software which uses a touch screen,' 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," he continued, "we have never abandoned the + [up, down, left, right] 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."Iwata's quote sheds light on what we've been hearing about the primary controller for its next machine. In this case, buttons are here to stay. How those buttons will be used, however? Well, time will tell.