IGN: So, to address the cries on the message boards, is there going to be a nunchuk option for those who want to play it the "core" way?
Sakamoto: No, there is no alternate control setting in Metroid Other M. Honestly, If we felt there was any more comfortable way to play the game then what we were envisioning, then we would have certainly would have just done that. But we do feel that this is the most appropriate and most comfortable way of playing the game and I don't think we made the wrong choice. We want to emphasize that this is the best way, we stuck with a single control scheme and were very committed to that from the beginning.
really don't see how that's possible. only thing i can think of is that playing in two dimensions is definitely easier with the d-pad, but not even allowing the nunchuk as an option seems weird to me, especially since metroid isn't strictly a platformer. for something like wario land 6 it made perfect sense, but metroid is pretty different from that game ...
The only reason I can think of that would make them decide it's the only way is that it must involve switching between sideways and pointy grip. If that weren't the case, then there'd be no good reason to not allow GC / Classic controller use. If that's true, then I hope it doesn't get clumsy...