I think the reason is not so much the taste of the people but rather the fact that a smartphone is not a NES. It's not the same use case.
Most successful games on phones are extremely casual, meant to be played for 5 minutes at a time while waiting for something else. The games you cited were meant to be played hours at a time.
That lowers people expectations as well as the price they're willing to pay for the games on phones.
Also, the fact that almost all interactions have to be done through the touchscreen makes many game types impractical.
Settlers on the iPad is brilliant. The touchscreen interface is perfect for such a game, and I’ve certainly played it for hours at a time. Not sure how well it would translate to phone screen size, or if it’s even available.
Most successful games on phones are extremely casual, meant to be played for 5 minutes at a time while waiting for something else. The games you cited were meant to be played hours at a time.
That lowers people expectations as well as the price they're willing to pay for the games on phones.
Also, the fact that almost all interactions have to be done through the touchscreen makes many game types impractical.