Games can certainly be successful in spite of performance problems, but why purposefully introduce them in the first place?
In the case of Notch, he used Java because he was most skilled at Java programming. The garbage collection, procedural generation, and multi-platform availability of the JVM allowed him to successfully release a massive hit as a solo indie developer.
At least that's one way to interpret it. Another way is that, had Notch been as skilled in C++ or (these days) Rust he could have made just as good of a cross platform game (even more so on mobile), that didn't concern itself with resource management outside of RAII and reference counting, was way more performant (no pauses), and in similar time frame as a skilled Java developer.
If you have a great idea use your favorite language. No doubt about that. You might be successful in spite of its specific deficiencies. However, if you are seeking a new language for a certain problem domain - like video games - choosing one with a feature that actively fights one of your fundamental goals (consistent framerate is only going to be a decision your users will regret you made.
It's funny that people like to say "users don't care what language it's written in". The fact that 8th graders know the the minecraft's garbage collector is a problem, suggests that using a garbage collected language for soft-realtime video games results in a seriously leaky abstraction.