The only people who write, "The only people that can't see the benefits of a touch screen controller are hard core Nintendo haters" are geniuses of the highest order.

You don't have to be a geniuses to use common sense.

Yes, you don't have to be a "geniuses".  

Do you think the Wii U is the start downward again?

europe wasn't brought up on nintendo like the US,that's not to say nintendo doesn't sell here but the Wii had a spark and was affordable compared to the competition,you'll have to be more patient this time around i think

I agree with the people saying that Nintendo was never that big in Europe to begin with. The only Nintendo Systems that did really well there are the newer ones. (DS & Wii) The rest were not that big at all. At the same time, people claiming that the 3DS & Wii U will fail because the DS only sold off its Touch & 2 screens (New at the time) and Wii only sold off its Motion controls are kind of dumb...

Since the DS & Wii were so huge, people have become fans of their games. Even if they did sell because of their innovations doesn't mean that Nintendo can't see success with less innovative Systems. I will admit that the 3D doesn't seem as big and even Nintendo has said this. (I really enjoy it) The truth is though, Nintendo's handhelds have always been huge & 3DS won't be any different without a big innovation.

I will also admit that the Wii U won't be as big in Europe without an innovation. I believe Nintendo has Haptic tech ready in the form of a peripheral that will release Holiday 2013. They didn't include this feature naturally because it would make the System even more expensive & Nintendo is already taking a pretty big loss on each unit sold. Obviously, this is just a prediction so we'll see. Plus, the NFC could have some unseen potential too.

Plus, as others have said, Europe is in a financial crisis & the Wii U is the most expensive System right now. People might want it but can't exactly justify the price.

Yes, its pretty dire and that is the main reason.

With that said, i didnt see much advertisement at all. The system stealth launched here.

They need to release Mario Strikers Universe. Everything will be fine after that. Europe loves their football (soccer).

It kind of stealth debuted here in the U.S too. Some of my family members who are pretty big gamers didn't know it existed until I told them about it.

I think the reason European sales are so low compared to the US is the lack of compelling games. The Wii U's biggest games are Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros U. Nintendo Land is a new IP, so there was no history of its performance in Europe. But looking at sales in Europe in relation to US, it doesn't look like Europe really loved it.

As for New Super Mario Bros U, Europe doesn't love 2D Mario quite as much as the US - NSMBWii European sales were less than half of what it sold in North America. Europe simply isn't as excited for 2D Mario as other nations. With a game like Mario Kart, Europe seems to match NA - Mario Kart European sales were ~85% of what it sold in North America, much bigger than with NSMBWii. This makse sense given that Europeans seem to love racers so much.

The Wii U also lacks much of what made the Wii attractive imo. I don't think tablets are even remotely as close to as exciting as motion controls. Sure, the Wii has motion controls, but it's no longer new. I think the Wii U is going to lack that instant appeal that the Wii had.