A Wii controler costs about the same as a good mouse, and is a LOT more versatile. On second thought, do yourself a big favor, and buy a Wii

Seriously, a webcam currently does not come close to this. Even the best can do about 30fps (wiimote effectively does 3x that at 100Hz). A comparable camera solution costs more than 100USD, perhaps lot more.
You would also have to figure out how to disembowel it, taking out the IR filter (unless it is an enamel on the lens, in which case you're out of luck).
You would then have to find a light filter that will let IR through, but conveniently blocks the visible light spectrum. (exposed film does the trick actually). Place that in front of the lens.
Then all you still need to do, is to figure out a way to connect your webcam to the software that is looking for a Wiimote, but all it finds is a webcam.
The Wiimote sends you the co-ordinates of the "blobs" (ir spots), whereas a hacked camera will send you a picture that still needs to be processed (by touchlib for example) and is quite computing intensive.
So how does buying a Wiimote sound now?
