These games tend to be low risk-high reward due to the advertising structure of mobile gaming, especially on Android. This is why they can give away games for no cost and still make millions.
Some of these games are incredibly well made too. I am currently playing Eternal Legacy and I am amazed at not only how well it looks, but also how much it offers in terms of gameplay.
These devices are also easily able to support ports from handhelds like the DS and PSP, as shown by Final Fantasy III and Crimson Gem SaGa on iOS and Spectral Souls on Android. Even better is that they cost ~$10-15 each as opposed to $30-$40 on the dedicated handheld platforms.
Touchscreen devices also work incredibly well for turn based JRPG gaming, which is why I love them so much.
Also worth mentioning is that Angry Birds has been downloaded over 75M times and has an active userbase of over 40M and they aim for over 100M downloads within the next year or so.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/03/10/rovio-accel-idINLDE72918B20110310
iPhone = Great gaming device. Don't agree? Who cares, because you're wrong.
Currently playing:
Final Fantasy VI (iOS), Final Fantasy: Record Keeper (iOS) & Dragon Quest V (iOS)
