Let's pretend video games on console/PC are music albums. Let's pretend board games are live music. Let's pretend mobile games are ringtones.
They're all "music", but they're all very different products.
Ringtones are cheap, disposable, mostly looked down upon, but still popular at the same time somehow.
Live music is seen as requiring a greater level of commitment; perhaps a little more exerting or rough around the edges, strangely pricey, but generally worth the above-and-beyond effort you have to make.
Music albums are ubiquitous, real effort went into many of them and they are not really disposable. There are a lot of sad "me too" attempts to capitalize on other trends created by first-movers. Most people have at least a couple they are into, and connoisseurs can dive into a pile of esoterica to unearth unappreciated artistic gems. Every once in a while, a major production turns out to actually be artistically important too, and people freak out.
What's my point? The "game" in "mobile game" seems pretty weighty, implying a closer kinship with other kinds of games, but, really they're as distant in kinship as ringtones are from "music". They're another product altogether. And ephemeral. And dangerous to tie your long-term longevity to as a content producer.
[edit: typos]
They're all "music", but they're all very different products.
Ringtones are cheap, disposable, mostly looked down upon, but still popular at the same time somehow.
Live music is seen as requiring a greater level of commitment; perhaps a little more exerting or rough around the edges, strangely pricey, but generally worth the above-and-beyond effort you have to make.
Music albums are ubiquitous, real effort went into many of them and they are not really disposable. There are a lot of sad "me too" attempts to capitalize on other trends created by first-movers. Most people have at least a couple they are into, and connoisseurs can dive into a pile of esoterica to unearth unappreciated artistic gems. Every once in a while, a major production turns out to actually be artistically important too, and people freak out.
What's my point? The "game" in "mobile game" seems pretty weighty, implying a closer kinship with other kinds of games, but, really they're as distant in kinship as ringtones are from "music". They're another product altogether. And ephemeral. And dangerous to tie your long-term longevity to as a content producer.
[edit: typos]