It really depends on the type of game too. If it's a processor-light game (like an asteroids clone) or pretty much anything in 2d, you can get away with more. Sure, smart pointers cost more than regular pointers, but if some people are writing games in C# then smart pointers are definitely not going to be a problem. And exceptions not being used in games is probably true, but many people misuse exceptions anyways. Exceptions should only be used for exceptional circumstances..not expected errors.
