I thought the controller would be essentially a GC controller, but instead of buttons, it would have a series of touch screens. Buttons would be software driven, so that the button you need would be what is displayed on the controller.
This would play well into the idea of them offering up their entire library of games for download. Want to play an NES game? Your controller gets a D-pad, Start, Select, A and A buttons.
Second, I think they have done exactly what they promised. This is such a radical departure from anything that ANYONE has done before. The closest I can think of, is Kirby Tilt-N-Tumble for Gameboy Color.
Third, I won't know what I think until I experience using it myself. My early impressions are that, as they said they would, Nintendo has taken games to a new plane. Fishing in Zelda: OoT was fun, but it wasn't quite realistic. This makes it more interactive.