What age did you give your children video games ??
How do you control the time they spend playing these ? Like, a schedule of 1 hour only daily ??
What is the best ( non-violent) game based on your experience, for a boy of 10 , who is a beginner ??
Not offering advice as to the age of your kid… I don’t have kids, and I was weird for a kid.
But I will recommend some games. 
I am a big fan of the Spyro the Purple Dragon series for PS2… it is an excellent platforming game and you get to breathe fire at your adorable enemies. It is very cutesy, but I know adult males who love this game because it is very complex and has a great story. The universes are huge and colorful, there is no limit of bonus games to play, and while it has some very difficult challenges, it’s not hard to get the hang of. It’s pretty much my favorite game ever, unless you’re counting Lemmings for the Amiga.
(Year of the Dragon (3rd game) info here.)
The Prince of Persia series is another good one. You get to swing and climb and sneak around things and the visuals are stunning. You do fight with swords but the violence is not really graphic or over-the-top… to the best of my collection, there isn’t blood, just white lights of ‘‘life essence’’ that drains from the baddies.
Oh, and who can forget Kingdom Hearts , one of the best RPGs I’ve personally ever played… and I’m not even particularly a fan of Disney? This isn’t some lame little kid’s game… it’s like Final Fantasy for the younger set (and made my the same company, just as high quality), but it rocked my face off at the age of 23. Instead of a sword you fight with a magical key, so it’s really low violence but incredibly fun and challenging. The visuals, again, are absolutely stunning.
Edit: OMFG there’s a new one out! runs, not walks, to Best Buy
Also not a parent, but I’ve got friends with kids about your son’s age. Most boys like some action in their games, so “violent” is gong to heavily depend on your point of view I suppose. As for time limits, one system I’ve seen used that seemed to work good was a 1 hr limit with overtime allowed to get to a save point. While the kids will always grumble about getting limited, at least your aren’t being an unreasonable ogre about it. After all if you had invested an hour’s worth of time in a story game only to lose it all because mum’s being a stickler about the clock, you’d be pretty upset too. Though I’m sure you’ve gotten imput from your son, I’d also recommend reading some reviews from online gaming magazine’s websites. Be careful to read a couple of reviews on each game so that you get a fair idea of it. Stay away from sites that simply count up whatever they perceive to be “violent content” and pass out labels. Lastly, you know your kid, let him help make those decisions within the limits you are willing to set. This is a good opportunity for you to allow him to make some choices of his own regarding his entertainment.
Olive,Acid
Thanx a lot for responding…
My son begged me for a video game for years, and I told him he could have one for his 10th birthday, and I stuck to that. We were advised to get him a Nintendo system, because all the “Mature” (i.e., violent) games are for other platforms. He chose a Gameboy Advance SP. He wanted a portable system, even though he’d played games on my sister’s Game Cube. (He has since acquired a DS, too.)
He enjoyed the Mario and Pokemon games a lot. And he would second Olivesmarch4th’s recommendation on Kingdom Hearts.
We did place limits initially on his usage. He had 1.5 hours per day total “screen time” – TV, computer, video game. He’s 12 now, and the deal is that he can have unlimited time after his homework and piano practice are done, up until 8 p.m., at which point, it’s reading time. We’ve told him that if his grades start to slip, we will go back to a finite limit on screen time. So far, so good!
I’ll put another vote in that The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time would be great pick. The next games in the series might be less appropriate, the second one (The Warrior Within) has blood and stuff and had the Prince get all emo and start listening to Linkin Park. 
Regardless, the first one is awesome in terms of being not too difficult, great style and animations, and sparse but fun dialog.
The Nintendo Wii has a lot of games that would appropriate as well, the Mario and Zelda games are always fun and very age-appropriate.
If you’re looking for some PC games, everything made by PopCap Games is high quality, kid friendly, and ridiculously fun. 
In terms of limiting my time on the computer, my father devised a rather cruel scheme where I had to do an equivalent number of pushups and situps for a set amount of time on the computer. So if I wanted to play for an hour, that was 30 pushups and 60 situps.
I’d add a warning on this one because the main character’s father turns into a sand-monster, and early in the game the main character has to battle and kill dear ol’ dad.
We have a video game household. Four PCs, a Playstation 2, an xBox 360, a Wii…
Our kids have played games from the time they could hold a mouse or controller. And with few restrictions.
The SSX games are good (but not “On Tour” - which is horrible and full of attitude). Easy to play and you functionally fall downhill. As violent as it gets is pushing the people you are racing against.
Yeah, maybe it would help if you would define ‘‘not violent’’? Because that could mean a lot of things to a lot of parents. The games I recommend feature bad guys you beat up with a weapon (Spyro’s flame breath, Prince’s sword, and The Magic Key, respectively) but the things that die in Kingdom Hearts, for example, get stars over their heads when you bonk them and then disappear into a cloud of magic dust. And they look like this. It’s not what I would call graphic or disturbing, but you are essentially bludgeoning your enemies with a giant key, so YMMV.
Ok,here’s a YouTube video showing the sort of violence I’m talking about in Kingdom Hearts. This is as violent as the game gets, (and also this boss is ridiculously fun and challenging to fight IIRC.) Is that a level you would find acceptable, or would you prefer something more mild?
The “Putt-Putt” games are good cartoon adventure games featuring a car named Putt-Putt that goes around solving simple puzzles and helping people. All of that series were good. They might be a little youngish for your son though, depends on how mature he is (or thinks he is.)
There is a LOT of games online for kids.
Just to name a couple.
I would also recommend games like Roller Coaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon, they teach planning and resource management skills, plus they’re a lot of fun.
IMO, anything should be taken in moderation. An hour or so of games should be plenty each day, of course subject to their behavior that day.
My six year-old enjoys Root Beer Tapper and Joust on our stand-up machine. (And Wizard of Wor, too).
She hates Sinistar. But then, so do I: VERY frustrating! 
She’s not coordinated enough for Defender and Stargate. But then, neither am I. 
(Actually, I scored over 100,000 on Defender once, a banner day in my life). Has no interest in Robotron, though that’s the game of my life. (25,000,000 points, game only ended 'cause I rolled-over the extra man counter).
We don’t buy her video games nor have any intention of getting her a console/hand-held, or anything. We don’t even allow her on the computer/internet.
I think a platformer would be a good choice. I really liked the Jak and Daxter series and the Ratchet and Clank series, but there are lots of other games out there for various systems. Heck, if the kid likes Star Wars, get him the Lego Star Wars II game.
thanx for all response…
My son plays games on MY PC and laptop , but he wants something bigger !
I will consider above inputs , before deciding…
Well, if you’re thinking console, especially for that age, you probably won’t be able to get a Wii. I suggest a PS2: Gigantic library, cheap hardware, and still quite good. Lots of the games that have been suggested are either PS2-specific or cross-platform with PS2 available.
We’re a lot like the dangerosa house - son has a PS2, Gameboy, there’s an even older one around somewhere, and we just got him a Wii for Christmas. My husband bought him his first one, he was around six maybe? We’ve never really limited him - he’s always been a straight A student, does his homework first, reads a ton and he has to get our permission before he can buy certain games because Gamestop MAKES him - we haven’t had the need to be “limiting”. He’s always kinda self-limited I guess you could say.
Our daughter, 4, plays video games exclusively (not at all interested in TV) Her favourite, by far, is Pikmin 2 which is also one of my favourite games. She also plays Chibi Robo, Super Mario, nintendogs, Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and Electroplankton.
She can play as much as she wants, but the rule is, after half an hour, she has to put it down for ten minutes and do something else. More often than not, ten minutes lasts a lot longer.
I can tell you about what my parents did with me, since my son isn’t old enough to be interested in games.
I got a Nintendo when I was 7 years old. My parents did almost nothing to regulate it, and treated it as just another toy. I agree with their decision, looking back at it. Why would a parent regulate video game time, but not time with a dollhouse or plastic army soldiers? Trying to regulate the time on the Nintendo just causes a “forbidden” attraction for it, I think.
Nintendo has a really good track record for providing plenty of games that children can enjoy without too much violence. Mario games in particular are usually great family games. If you’re thinking about getting a video game system for a kid, the Nintendo Wii is what I’d suggest. It comes with a sports package that’s great fun already, and the new Mario Galaxy game looks promising.
My son is 8 and I keep him nearly exclusively on the “Rated E” games (he has a PS2 and a Nintendo Gameboy). Series favorites are Spyro and Sonic for the PS2. The Sonic the Hedgehog series has a slew of games ranging from 2D side scrollers to 3D adventures to racing games, team sport style things, etc.
It’s almost impossible not to love the Lego Star Wars games. The whole game is done in Legos so even when you “die”, you just fall apart and come back reformed. Plus it’s insanely fun times. There’s a Raiders of the Lost Ark Lego game planned for this spring as well.
My son enjoys Rampage but it’s up to you if it’s “violent”. You play a Godzilla/King Kong style monster and knock down buildings and occassionally eat people. Mind you, the people look like clay-motion figures and respond to you eating them with indignant cries such as “You can’t eat me, I’m a lawyer!” and “Get your stinking hands off me!”
On the Gameboy, it’s all about the Pokémon. Pokémon red, green, gold, sapphire, diamond, uranium, magnesium, Rescue dungeons, Rangers, etc etc etc. I can’t keep up with it but he loves 'em.
During the week, I try to restrict him to 1.5 hours nightly of “Screen time” which is TV, movies, Gameboy, the Playstation, etc. I just don’t want him staring glassy-eyed at a screen all night, every night. It’s up to him if he wants to spend that time on Cartoon Network or playing Spyro. On the weekends and vacations, I tend to be more flexible.
I recommend that you wait as long as possible to get your kids a video game system. It’s probably unreasonable to try to not have one at all if they really want one.
We got our son a SEGA when he was around ten. He played with it a reasonable amount of time but really wanted a Playstation. Finally when he was a little older we got him a Playstation and he was addicted to it from the start. It was a constant battle to get him to do anything other than the games. If we limited his time he would play at his friends. We had consequences and took the games away when his grades dropped and we limited the amount he could play but it was always a never ending battle.
Now he is 19 and spends all his free time playing video games. He is funny, nice, pleasant to be around, can hold a job and keep his grades up but he’s wasting the best part of his life sitting in front of a screen.
I know not all kids get so addicted to them but why take a chance. I do notice that girls are less likely to overplay games. If I had it to do over I wouldn’t have gotten the Playstation and he could have bought it for himself when he was older. I don’t know if that would have changed anything.