But on the flip-side, huge games like EVE have their core written in C++ (for speed), with Python layered over it (for ease of coding and convenience).
Many games are actually written in two languages: C++ and a scripting language (often Lua or Javascript).

Its important to clarify this point...

Eve is not written in C++. It is written in PYTHON with some core components written in C++, either for speed or as an interface to the operating system (their IOCP module which exposes IOCP to stackless python). The core of the game is in Python, not the other way around.

All that being said, there is no reason not to start with a language that is a lot simpler. Such as python with pygl/pygame (or whatever the current frameworks are), or C#/XNA... or any number of other platforms.

My mistake, I thought I read that their graphics engine was written in C++ (which was a reasonable assumption). I assumed most the gameplay-related logic was handled by Python, but the graphics-related code was C++ since rendering and physics usually takes the vast majority of a frame. How their server is set up, I'm not sure - I know they use Python heavily there as well, but I don't know if they use C++ for some of the heavier computations their servers might be running.

Their graphical component IS written in C++.But, like most games, it is a very small part of the overall game, once you have the "engine" setup, the rest is just a matter of shoving data at the subsystem and letting it handle it. All that logic is done in python. Physics is handled on the server side and is actually mostly in Python, there are some pieces that are offloaded to C++ using low-overhead bridges, but most of it is python. The way they have designed their systems they can rip out a performance intensive component of a calculation (say computing the current position of an object A that is set to orbit another object B at a range of 5,000 kilometers while attempting to move at full speed AS the other object attempts to counter orbit the object A, which happens a great deal in small fleet combat) and move that into a C++ module, which integrates seamlessly into their stackless python architecture.

So in answer to the question, "Is it possible to create fast games without using C++?", we hold up Eve online as an example that's written in Python, except that the fast parts (the rendering) are written in C++?

I love using Eve Online as an example of a game written in Python, and I'm not saying it isn't possible to write fast games without C++ (it is!), I'm just pointing out Eve isn't the best example to use in context to the question of this thread. Unless I'm completely misunderstanding what you meant, which is likely.

Case in point - MineCraft (java)

Minecraft isn't exactly "fast", In Minecraft I get 30-40 fps in most other games I get 60-75, In my game Engine I get 110-130 fps its written in C/C++ and looks a lot better than Minecraft. It all depends how fast you want to go. To write really really fast games you don't necessarily need C++ but you do need a compiled (or assembled) language. That said Minecraft is still fast enough to play and be amazingly fun (it used to have terrible performance back in alpha/beta) and alot of games written in other languages are fast enough. So unless you want your game to run really really fast you could use java or python or something.