A common concern with video games is the violence. (This is the same question as violence on TV) So - Are violent video games bad for kids? Well, what do you mean by "bad?" Do they increase violent behavior in children? Do they desensitize them to violence? Do they normalize shooting and killing people? The answer is yes and no. Yes, they can contribute to violent behavior, but only when combined with other factors. If your kid is raised in a stable loving household, and does not have a genetic behavioral disorder, then they will understand the difference between real life and video games. If a child is raised in an abusive household and/or has a sociopathology, then yes violent video games can reinforce violent behavior. However, if those conditions exist, you have more serious issues than just video games. (See: Disorders)
However, a more common issue with video games is the threat of addiction, attention span, and self-control. I myself got so addicted to gaming that I actually had to throw them in the garbage to stop! In addition to excessive time spent gaming, the actual game itself that is being played is significant. 5 hours spent on a strategy game is far better than 5 minutes spent on an arcade game. To make things even worse is that most kids play on their phones. This makes it harder to resist because the opportunity is always there, and the smaller screen makes it harder to provide complexity and deep immersion.
In regard to complexity, I've noticed that many phone games overload the player with busy lights and colors and noises and flashy animations that have nothing to do with the game. These are put there just to "wow" the player. However, Kids quickly learn to ignore this overload of stimuli. Now, do you want your kids to lose the ability to notice obvious things that are right in front of them? Do you want your kids to be enamored with gimmicks? Do you want your kids to lose the ability to stay focused on one thing for more than 5 seconds? And most important...Do you want your kids to lose the ability to connect with themselves because the chance to ever be "bored" is now gone.
But they're not all bad. Many games really do teach skills. Some teach you how to play baseball, some teach you how to fly planes, and some teach you how to survive the zombie apocalypse. Even if you don't do these things in real life, they still teach you strategy and logic. These are the types of games that kids should be playing. Here is a very short list of my best picks.
The Sims
Farm Simulator
Flight Simulator
Call of Duty
Minecraft
Fortnite
Of course there are way too many games to list, and new ones come out every day. If you are wondering about a game, then please send me a request. I'll get it...play it...and review it!
Age is a primary factor as well. Tamagotchi Adventure Kingdom, Hello Kitty Island Adventure are great, but by the time your kids are 12 they should have moved from Super Mario Cart to Forza Horizon. And say no to the Lego game and just get them real Legos!
"Who are you to say what games kids should like?"
Sure. They can like any game they want. But it's a fact that some games make you think, while other games do your thinking for you. And I don't believe anyone would disagree that stimulating children's intellect and imagination is important. As long as that's getting done, it doesn't matter what game is doing it.
Summary
Video games come down to "quality" and "quantity". Make sure that the game itself is stimulating imagination and learning, but at the same time. limit how much time is spent playing it.