lets ignore this and the "business" side of the industry for a moment and consider this question:

If you are a game developer what next generation system would you be excited about making games for? Why?

Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ: "Nintendo has long been a trailblazer, and this controller design reinforces that reputation. We enthusiastically support Nintendo's next console because we believe their approach of continual innovation is very much in line with our own strategy of creating unique and innovative games for the next generation of hardware."

Chuck Huebner, Head of Worldwide Studios Activision, Inc.: "What we're seeing from this controller is the same thing we saw with Nintendo DS. It's a system that's designed with an eye on enticing new players to the video game industry, and that's something we firmly support."

John Schappert, Sr. Vice President and General Manager of Electronic Arts Canada: "Game control is essential – it's the area where perhaps the most game-play improvement can be made. While our portfolio represents a full array of titles across all genres, I think our sports titles might be the first to immediately take advantage of what this novel 'freehand' type of control has to offer."

Serge Hascoet, Chief Creative Officer of Ubisoft: "We were among the first publishers to see the control design in action. We're excited about the new controller and are looking forward to taking advantage of its innovative aspects."

Hideo Kojima, Konami: "'You've done it' was my impression. This was totally unexpected. I was pleasantly surprised, because the controller is quite comfortable yet provides something brand new...even though it was a surprise to me at first, once I touched the controller I quickly understoond how it should be used much like a remote control for your TV. This is exactly what I was looking for."

Yuji Horii, Square Enix (Dragon Quest designer): "At first introduction to the controller, I was surprised. There should have been a controller like this before, but surprisingly, there was not. I believe people will not hesitate to use this controller. Just like a remote control for your TV, people touch it without understanding how to use it. Starting with DS, I believe Nintendo has made game machines that are for the feeling of touch. The Revolution controller has evolved this feeling of touch even farther."

Akitori Kawazu, Square Enix (Final Fantasy XII producer): "The first thing that came to my mind was, 'Controlling with one hand? Wow, that's a bold approach.' It's great to see the movements of your hands and arms, especially the subtle action twist reflected on the strain the physical feeling you get; it's not what I expected. I believe this will challenge us as creators, to figure out how we are going to utilize this fundamental change."

Eurogamer: How is the controller going to work with games that aren't designed specifically for the Revolution - multi-platform titles and so on?

Jim Merrick: We're producing a classic-style expansion controller, based on traditional designs like the Gamecube controller. It's like a shell with a hole in the top into which you slot the freehand-style controller, and then you can play third-party ported games, and retro Nintendo games you've downloaded.

So there's that option - but even while it's inserted into the classic-style shell, the freehand controller will still be able to sense positioning and so on, so there are more options too.