Yeah - asking "why wasn't this software" is like asking a painter why they didn't just take a photograph. This is art, folks.
TehCorwiz knows what's up. A contraption is always more cool than software.
It depends on the software. Anyway there's just different ways to create automata. There's no reason why one way is better or worse than others. Painting is no better or worse than photography or sculpture, etc.
I've thought about simulating it in Blender. Not because it's be cooler. But, because I can't afford nor do I have the time to build such a glorious kinetic sculpture.