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Absolutely, but we're not talking to a business, we're talking to an individual looking to get started on a first (or early) project. I think Unity is a great option, I just don't feel it's necessarily best suited to this particular situation.
Really though, any of the engines mentioned thus frwould be capable and good choices, and all this talk of final profits and having to pay royalties on sales over $50-100,000 is probably a bit premature -- a beginner just getting started will be doing very well if they manage to get into a situation where that actually matters.
@Juggernaut:
I think you might be suffering from what's known as "decision paralysis"; you've now spent a couple of weeks looking at different options and don't really seem any closer to actually choosing one. You're also changing your requirements as you go -- you've now switched to paying a smaller amount up-front in order to avoid royalties, and sacrificed one of your original requirements of wanting an easy-to-use engine.
Realistically, every option that has been mentioned in this topic is a good, usable engine that will allow you to create games. They have varying capabilities, varying levels of ease-of-use, and varying costs (both up front, and royalty-based). If you're not sure about things like ease-of-use, just install the trials of any that interest you and have a play -- almost all of these engines offer some form of trial. If you're having trouble choosing between them, perhaps you could try making a decision grid.
Pick any one option, and actually get started on learning to use it and on creating your game -- the only way you definitely won't make any money is if you never actually create one!
You definitely don't want to spend more than about a month on such a decision; considering your options carefully is smart, but continually seeking an ideal and changing your priorities along the way just ends up wasting your time.Hope that helps!
