he's been accused of copying kairosoft's game a couple of times already, you can read his response here (he's ppakl):

http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/1cn8yi/game_dev_tycoo...

yes, they've been inspired by it but "their version" does have different and more complex gameplay mechanics. a lot of people like greenhearts take on the subject more.

i've played neither, but i guess i'll give game dev tycoon a try - after not being totally happy with kairosofts ninja village, i guess ghg deserve a chance.