I have a 27 month old son. He enjoys watching me gaming, and will often grab a disconnected controller and pretend to play along.  I was introduced to gaming by my father at about that age, but games are much simpler back then. I played pitfall on the 2600 almost exclusively. They were basically only two commands: run and jump.  Even in games made for kids, things are much more complex these days.

I no there are people on here that have introduced their children to gaming. I'd love to hear some experiences, specifically when you started them, and how that works.

Bonus question: motion controls, or sticks?  

Double bonus: gimme a game recommendation.  We have a Wii U, Switch, PS4 Pro, Series X/S. Short of a good recommendation from someone here, I'm thinking something relatively bright and colorful with an open space for him to just run around in. Possibly something like Mario Kart would work as well, which I own on Wii U.  

Imo, do it steadilly. i am on the side of those who forbid TV and videogames for kids until the age of 8. before that age, they'd better play cognitive games that develop mental and physical reflexes and especially play outside, cauz they'll basically spend a lot of time playing videogames in their rooms once they reach teenagehood.
Honestly, starting from the age of 6 or 7, and once the kid starts to understand what's written in the screen, videogames will become beneficial for him and he will learn pretty much through them.
Give him Vtech tablets, and once you start noticing that they have become pretty easy for him or started to bore him, then let him test new things with your supervision and restricted playtimes (Nintendo software are always the best ones to start with).

Dont do it at all. Dont introduce him to this curse. Raise him to be a jock.
Break the cycle, rise above.

Mobile gaming are the way to go for little kids, both my 3 and 4 year old cousins play games in their parents smartphones 

They learned how to use it just after they learned how to speak 

It's already too late. He will never be an elite Fortnite player making the big bucks now...

Start him off right: Resident Evil Remake HD (the remaster of the Gamecube remake of RE1)

If he gets scared, just tell him: "Don't worry Timmy, normal mode has THIRTY; I say THIRTY, ink ribbons!" 

I’d say start off with super simple games like you did, if you still have an Atari. And I don’t think there’s really a dedicated time to start gaming, you should do it when he gets interested himself.

You're overthinking it.. He'll figure it out eventually. Besides he's a toddler, its probably better if he didn't get into gaming at such an early age. Let him run about and play outside

When I worked retail, I would always direct people to things like a leap pad or VTech thingy until about 5-6 years old.

There are some games where you can set it up that they can just press buttons and neat things will happen and they won't die or anything (Mario Kart with auto steering on maybe) but they won't really be doing anything intellectually engaging. They're not doing anything intentional, just mashing buttons while shit happens.

With games specifically designed for kids, there is a clear cause and effect to what they're doing, and actual intention behind their actions. So, they're intrinsically more educational, plus the content will likely be geared towards what they'll start learning in preschool which is an added bonus.

If you really insist on letting them play on a console, then I'd say Wii Sports is the best starting point. In Tennis, there is a clear connection between what they're doing and what's happening on the screen, and there are no buttons just swing when the ball is in the right spot. If they get that, you can move on to baseball where they can, but don't have to, use buttons, and so on. Wii Sports is basically a tutorial to go from newbie to somewhat competent gamer, so it's the best starting point.

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