Is the consumer expectation that mobile games be free on the publishers if they're responding to market conditions created by those same consumer expectations?

Is the consumer expectation that mobile games be free on the publishers if they're responding to market conditions created by those same consumer expectations? Seems to me like a chicken and egg problem where the entrenched nature of freemium games create a consumer expectation that games should be free up-front, causing consumers to avoid up-front payment, which causes up-front payment models to be less successful, which further entrenches the freemium game model, etc. I agree with you on principle that it's up to publishers to make the effort to change this model, but I don't see how that could happen without some external nudging to overcome the market forces at work.