Every "genre" and gametype you could ever think of has already been done to some extent by someone in the last few decades so to discredit him because it's not a "new genre" is silly.
Also, it doesn't really matter if he did something already done or not. What matters is that he did it in a way that was seen as better by a significant amount of people.
I'm calling you on this one. It might not be obvious to us right now, but new game genres will continue to sprout up. Touch (included pinch, swipe, etc.) as an input mechanism is new enough that many genres have only come into being in the past few years or so. Games like Osmos and Kosmo Spin are pretty much unique, the latter I just can't imagine working on anything other than touch. People have surely been saying that all genres have been covered in every medium for the last 60 years, yet new ideas keep getting created.
I can remember playing what is essentially the same game on an acorn computer in 80s, pretty sure a helicopter. All this talk is just a witch hunt by jealous people, ignoring how rare original ideas actually are.
The way the game is played is nearly identical. You either increase your altitude or decrease it.
I agree that the consistency of the obstacles is different though.