I think it's more people are excited about Kotlin because it gives you some of the best parts of Scala without the long tail of confusing stuff. Sure, it's not

I think it's more people are excited about Kotlin because it gives you some of the best parts of Scala without the long tail of confusing stuff. Sure, it's not revolutionary, but if the base level for everyone is ratcheted up a notch or two, it makes the next move even easier.