Right now, I feel I am strong in both Java a C#. (Not much of a leap from one to the other really).
While I don't expect a game designer/programmer is an attainable goal early on in my career, This is a goal I will reach later on in my career.
With this in mind, I feel that ignoring C++ and game design tools associated with it are eventually going to hurt me or slow me down in my ability to reach my goal.
Is this the case? Or can I continue to hone my C# skills using XNA and WPF for personal projects that can elevate me into such a career?
Answer
IMO, yes, you are likely to be hurting yourself. First of all, rightly or wrongly there is a perceived hierarchy among programming languages -- and C++ generally has a higher standing than Java or C# (e.g., questions like yours are fairly common -- the reverse is virtually unheard of). If you apply somewhere that uses C# or Java, and you know C++, they're unlikely to question your programming ability. If you apply somewhere that uses C++ and you know C# and Java, there's a pretty fair chance, they will question your programming ability, at least to some degree. That's not to say the perception can't be overcome, but you're still putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Second, at least among the independent game developers I know (admittedly, not very many), there's some basic dislike of C# just because it's from Microsoft. Sun was viewed a lot more positively, but since the Oracle buyout that doesn't seem to be the case anymore at all. Most see "Oracle" and "cool games" as about as close to exact opposites as humanly possible.
Finally, from a practical viewpoint, games are one of the places where C++ is used most heavily. If you don't know C++ to at least a reasonable degree, it simply restricts your options considerably.
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