What a laughable misunderstanding of the causality for cellphone games. Casual games are popular on cellphones because THAT’S THE ONLY TYPE EVEN REMOTELY PLAYABLE ON THEM.

One thing that seems to be a constant between “casual” games and “hardcore” ones is the matter of control schemes. That is, hardcore, more than anything else, refers to a type of game that relies not on intuitive design, but on convoluted bullshit. This convoluted bullshit itself relies entirely on the “hardcore” gamer’s long-standing experience in coping with such bullshit.

With phones, you get a makeshift D-pad. If you’re lucky. Hence, no room for convoluted bullshit, and no room for “hardcore” games.

Furthermore, people don’t play cellphone games for in-depth experiences on some suckjob cellphone screen. They play purely because they have nothing better to do and they need to kill a few minutes. Does that sounds like it’s conducive to a “hardcore” experience?

And really, given the way the DS and GBA have sold, i’d wager that even the casual gamers that want something meatier (or at least less mind-numbing) have already turned to those systems.