Hello! We welcome you to the great The Games Market family and thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. Every passion is born long ago, usually in that magnificent and evocative time between childhood and adolescence, and it is there that video game players’ dreams are born, destined to grow with us. Tell us about yourself! Who are you? Or rather, who is the person, the collector, the video game enthusiast we have in front of us?
Ciao everyone and thank you for welcoming me into the big family of The Games Market. My name is Renato, I am from Naples, and I work as a magician. I deal with creating magical effects and professional routines for Italian and international artists, I train young magicians, and I am a consultant for theatrical and television shows. My life is practically permeated by magic. My interest in the world of video games began as a child with the first 8-bit consoles and the first computers; my passion for collecting emerged a little later, around the age of 20, and has never left me. I love Japan and Eastern culture, to the point of collecting only titles in Asian languages, and I am obsessed with aesthetics: my games must necessarily be in perfect condition and complete with all extras!
Collecting means maintaining a deep connection with our past and the games we have loved. What are your all-time favorite titles? In your own words, let us “see” your shelves and the collection, or collections, that represent you.
I have always loved the world of arcades and spent many years of my adolescence among the unhealthy fumes of arcades, so my nature is mainly that of an old hardcore gamer. I really like racing games where you never lift your foot off the accelerator, but above all 2D-style fighting games, to be played strictly with an arcade stick on your knees.
My favorite console of all time is the Neo Geo (especially the CD version, which for me has incredible sentimental value and of which I proudly boast a full Japanese set), and I have an unabashed obsession with everything related to the Street Fighter universe, a series whose most bizarre and weird items I also love to collect.
By grading your title, you made an important choice and from now on it has become something more, not just as a collectible item. How did you become acquainted with the world of grading? Have you already had similar experiences with other collections of yours, even ones different from video games?
Yes, I have dealt more than once with the world of grading, especially in the collectible card game sector. As a longtime "Magic the Gathering" player, over the years I have had the chance to view and handle graded cards firsthand, sometimes also considering buying some for primarily aesthetic reasons.
The graded item is objectively cooler to display, and for me the visual aspect has always been a fundamental component of a collection.
What were the main reasons why you wanted to grade the title you brought us? Beyond the nostalgic aspects tied to the game, are there other reasons behind your choice to entrust yourself to TGM's grading procedure?
The main motivation is, as already said, an aesthetic one. As the years have gone by and events have unfolded, I have had less and less space at home for games, and I have never been a fan of boxes on top of wardrobes. I like looking at the titles in my collection even more than playing them; seeing the perfectly tidy display cases is something that relaxes me, and I have always tried to enhance the flagship titles with lighting or dedicated protective boxes.
I have, in practice, decided to abandon the compulsive habit of buying hundreds of video games in order to dedicate myself solely to the quality of the titles to highlight, and the grading process fits perfectly with all of this.
Every game has its story, as does its owner; the bond that is formed goes far beyond the simple owner-object relationship. When the game was finally returned to you graded, what did you feel?
E' a great emotion, protecting and enhancing something you care about, for us collectors, is something that others can hardly understand.
To conclude, we can only ask you the classic ritual question: which aspects of our service did you like most? Thank you not only for giving us your time, but also for choosing to place your trust in us!
I couldn’t be happier with the treatment I received: the boxes are truly beautiful, the service was impeccable, and the turnaround was very fast. On top of that, the package was bombproof; not even a hadoken would have damaged it!
