Iwata: Buttons Are Here To Stay For A While
“Whenever we make a new game console, we’ve done it without throwing away buttons and the directional pad. The reason for that it’s better to have them, because buttons and directional pads benefit gameplay response. 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.”
I really think Nintendo did it right with the Wii-mote having a number of buttons. It opens up a lot of different possibilities, like holding the remote sideways or just holding it in your hand.