Quote Originally Posted by lionx
Well before the NES, there was no real predefined controller, the goal of a controller is to make sure you can fluidly make decisions and have it acted out as easily as possible on screen. The NES defined it by having basic buttons, and the revolutionary : D-pad.
I hope you're not implying that Nintendo INVENTED or were the first to use a D-pad because they were not. (Neither were they the first to use an Analouge stick on a home console)

Then came the SNES which is the one to use shoulder buttons, and that worked out well along with the button scheme in which Sony obviously copied and improved a little on bit by bit.
Now I wouldn't say copied. Nintendo broke off a deal that basicaly left them with a very advanced SNES. I doubt they would have been able to get the funding to start the controller over again from scratch.

The controller today has to fit a wide variety of games without you having to buy a seperate assessory to play the game. It doesnt have to be perfect, but it has to be versitle enough and Nintendo did make one that fits just about every game.
But Nintendo have already said that their controller for the revolution will need add ons to play all the games. And have even shown the analouge stick as an example. It seems like that goes against your idea of an Ideal controller.

Therefore i feel Revolution's controller IS revolutionary....no controller really had the limelight of being the default controller that looks like this(most if there are any, are probably gimmicks like the Super Scope of the Power Glove). However does it mean its effective? Thats unknown at this point...however it DOES have potential...Nintendo just has to show it, and try to prove that a wide variety of games can be played on it the same way as the other controllers.
It may work in the long run but it seems far from revolutionary to me. All I see is an updated lightgun in a Remote controls shell. Like many of Nintendo's, aparantly, innovative idea it's just an updated version of a rivals less successful product.