Is it just me or has the Google Maps API died a slow and lonely death? I remember a time when every week there would be an exciting new Google Maps 'mashup', g

Is it just me or has the Google Maps API died a slow and lonely death? I remember a time when every week there would be an exciting new Google Maps 'mashup', game, or design concept built using the Google Maps API. Developers were constantly trying to one up each other in the Maps game. It was like one giant maps party that went on for several years. Can you name an API that has had that much buzz or rabid excite from both developers and non-technical spectators? I think not. Now it just seems like developers have lost interest because Google decided to shit all over the party by making their API more restricted and expensive. It became all about $$$ so they started to slap expensive bill on developers' side projects that got a little too popular. The fuck was Google thinking...