Why are mobile games popular?

So many people who are too lazy to switch on a game console prefer to play mobile games that they can instantly access.

The number of smart phone users has increased dramatically. It's believed that by 2016 there will be more than 2 billion mobile phone users worldwide.

To access a game from a mobile you just have to download it once, then you can access it by a single click. This makes mobile games very tempting to play during small breaks or free time. 

With the advancement of technology and the enlargement of screen sizes, mobile games are becoming more interesting, realistic and popular.

Some mobile games are designed to be played in a very short period of time. For example, it usually takes less than a minute to complete a level of Flappy bird. This motivates people to play mobile games whenever they have a few minutes of free time.

Because mobile games are easier to develop, there is a large variety of games available. New games are being released all the time, thus giving people more choices.

Zynga, the maker of Farmville, Disney, Nintendo and many other major developers have started releasing mobile games as well. These large corps have very large marketing budgets and have made the mobile game industry even more popular. (See Why Farmville got so popular?)

Many mobile games have a very short learning curve. The faster a person can learn a game, the more likely he is to continue playing it. So many mobile games, because of their simple nature, are extremely simple to learn.

Contrary to game consoles that can only be accessed by people at certain times, mobile phones are always available in the hands of people. This led to the popularity of many mobile games such as angry birds & Candy Crush. (See
Why is Candy Crush so popular?)

People love to procrastinate and take small breaks every now and then. A typical person searches for anything interesting to do every now and then while doing important work. Mobile games allow people to satisfy that need.

It's not uncommon for a person to find his friend immersed in a game while they are sitting together. As that person becomes curious to know more about the game, he asks his friend and might end up playing that game as well.

We have certain cells in our brains called mirror neurons. These cells enable us to experience the feelings of others and have empathy. When a person sees another person playing a game, he will feel like he wants to do the same.