It isn't that Java 8 will kill Scala, it is that Scala has demonstrated the utility of lambdas to the point where they can safely be incorporated back into Java. So Scala has "won", but in my opinion likely Scala will now fade away.
Java is necessarily very conservative with adopting language features, because it is very careful to maintain backwards compatibility. Java is a bit like Debian stable - out of date compared to Debian testing or even other distros - but solid as a rock. For features to make it into Java, they really need to be proved first in other languages or in external libraries.
This isn't the first time Odersky has advanced Java either - he worked on Pizza, which showed how to add Generics to Java. Scala demonstrates how to add functional features to Java. Generics were a huge advance, and I think lambdas will be as consequential.
So if Scala does die, it will be as a sacrificial lamb, rather than as a casualty of an unseen war.
Java is necessarily very conservative with adopting language features, because it is very careful to maintain backwards compatibility. Java is a bit like Debian stable - out of date compared to Debian testing or even other distros - but solid as a rock. For features to make it into Java, they really need to be proved first in other languages or in external libraries.
This isn't the first time Odersky has advanced Java either - he worked on Pizza, which showed how to add Generics to Java. Scala demonstrates how to add functional features to Java. Generics were a huge advance, and I think lambdas will be as consequential.
So if Scala does die, it will be as a sacrificial lamb, rather than as a casualty of an unseen war.