Once he's no longer responsible for the game he can ignore the "noise". At least until protesters in creeper pajamas start coming over his fences.... and must I point out that his share of the 2.5 will purchase an awfull lot of electric fencing.
The community will calm down. Heck if society can forget the names of men like Warren Anderson I think the gaming community can forget a game developer who sold his company. I'm sure that even today the vast majority only know him by his handle.
not protestors, insane terrorist minecraft players with bombs strapped to chests in creeper pj's.
Seriously, nobody will let notch live this down ever if it goes to crap as it has the potential to. Giving up your baby to get some phat lewt isn't an escape from something, it's an escape TOWARDS something. He wants to make a scrooge mcduck swimming pool full of ingots of gold.
I seriously think he realized that there was no longer anything to contribute to minecraft. He is hoping to relieve himself (in his mind only) of anything associated to it. He feels he has an idea that he wants to pursue in a completely different direction than minecraft and he wishes to make another game without minecraft hanging over his head. I'm sorry, history does not bode well for him. Look no further than Peter Molyneux for a picture of how this will play out. The guy made populous, dungeon keeper, etc... Lionhead got bought out by microsoft even.
The problem with awesome ideas is that people think they're awesome for making them even tho it might be the only awesome idea ever thought of by that normal person. right time, right place, a thousand monkeys making shakespeare, etc... It's usually the first person with something unique.
Trying to recreate that genius is usually what takes a toll on the person because they try too hard. They have to live up to their potential (self realized and externally). The problem with that is not everyone's a repeat genius, especially when it comes to creativity. That's hard since it isn't something you get better at. It's something you are or you aren't. You can lose that creativity and never get it back. Music is a real good place to look at for examples.
Notch will spend alot of that 1.5 billion on psychiatrists over the next decade or more, I'm sure. oh, and cheetos. trucks of cheetos and mountain dew.