Viability of C#/.NET as the new standard game dev platform?

Question

For a long time now C++ has been the dominate game development language. Many AAA quality 3D engines are available to fit any budget.

My question is, with the rise of X

Answer 1

As a follow-up to this question, i started looking at some OpenGL based 3D engines written in C++ (CrystalSpace, Irrlicht, Panda3D), and they all look rather solid. An interesting note about Panda3D is that it is written in C++, but the main way you use it is through Python. It seems to me that method would give the best of both worlds as far as a fast engine written in C++ combined with the ease of programming in Python. I'll pose another question comparing these engines. Thanks for the replies.