Marketing is definitely important here (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7023467 / https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7201353 good timing + HN-specific introduction on this one: 300+ upvotes, made #1). But I think there’s at least another factor here: his version is more fun, because it’s faster-paced and has better graphics (obviously). So I’d say it’s also about more quality. Being more fun is more important than not being a rip-off in relation to quality too.
I totally understand why you’re pissed off, but I recommend trying (it’s not always trivial) to see further than “it’s all marketing”. Most of the time there are other factors at play, and nothing but good things come when you get to know some of them.
I'd be less annoyed if his version was indeed better but he just replaced the graphics and bumped the physics values. So I can't accept that his version was "more fun".
But I agree that there are things I didn't consider. And I learned a lot because of this event.
I totally understand why you’re pissed off, but I recommend trying (it’s not always trivial) to see further than “it’s all marketing”. Most of the time there are other factors at play, and nothing but good things come when you get to know some of them.