Why Java?

Well, why not? With Java 1.4, you can make fast, full-screen, hardware-accelerated games while having the benefits of developing for the Java platform. Developing for the Java platform means you get a simple, modern, safe, object-oriented language with a comprehensive API, simple multithreading, automatic garbage collection, and, of course, portability. Also, an abundance of tools is available for Java development, including lots of open-source libraries and some fantastic IDEs. The main complaint about Java is speed, but with the HotSpot VM and hardware-accelerated graphics, speed isn't much of a factor anymore. HotSpot compiles the "hot" parts of your game to native code at runtime, and with hardware-accelerated graphics, you can take advantage of a powerful video card.