If you continue to dumb down the game, you will lose half your player base

[Sqwall]

The fact that controller support is being blamed shows a very large degree of ignorance.

Controller issues are outside of combat. Inside combat they perform just as well as K+M, its all preference. Some find controller much easier to manage 30 buttons, some find K+M easier. They both work fine. The fact that MMORPG mice are popular speaks to the fact that many people find standard K+M limiting as well.

There 48 easily available slots to work with without swapping to a new hot bar.

The bigger problem to me isnt the number of buttons, its that complex rotations are (imo) tedious. Part of the reason why WoW shines in combat is that it keeps you on your toes more with what to press more. WoWs peak was also perhaps its peak simplicity in combat, but it was engaging. The 'simplification' thing that, imo, drove people away was removal of talent trees.

Great answer. I loved Cataclysm personally. It was perfect looking back on the amount of buttons and Heroics. It was pretty much the only time I felt WoW was "perfect".