Java and ActionScript (flash) are also sometimes used for games. There's a boom going on at the moment in small games -- on the web and on cell phones -- and in this area those two languages predominate.

If you'd like to start making games right now, try Pygame. There's some rumbling that Pyglet is even better. You can get free tilesets from http://lostgarden.com/ if you want to start with 2D. 3D is a lot more work, asset-wise.