Basically, there is a legitimate claim in there: Mojang (read: notch) have gone and made loads of money with nothing but I good philosophy and a good idea. They've displayed that people will play whatever they want to play, whether it's free, costs £10 or costs £60, it doesn't matter. Also, they've made one hell of a game. It's got an infinite world-generator. Never come across one of those before, but I like the idea. It's not a sandbox in the same way as vice city - and to be honest, you need to be playing it with other people for it to be at its best.
I did have valve down to win, though, facing gearbox in the final, but that's because I've replayed HL2, Portal and borderlands recently. Would have liked bioware up there too but you know...
Mojang have done a great job, and of course it's a popularity contest: "which is your favourite developer?" isn't a question that's trying to do anything but find out who's the most popular.