Heroes of Time: Let’s Get to Know Massimiliano Sacchi
by Simon LaroccaSeptember 20, 2025
Hello! Welcome to the great family of The Games Market, and thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. Every passion is usually born long ago, in that magnificent and evocative period between childhood and adolescence; it is there that the dreams of video game players 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 before us?
In reality, I am not a collector, but simply a player.
And let's start from the beginning: I’m Massimiliano, born in 1970 in Portici, and I’ve been passionate about video games for as long as I can remember. Or rather, since I was five years old, when my father gave me 50 lire for my first game of Pong, in a bar in the province of Siena.
My first "real" cartridge console was the Atari VCS 2600, and since then I have never stopped. In fact, to put it more accurately: I stopped many times in front of the price of games, which was prohibitive for me, until I realized that I would have to work in the video game industry; otherwise, I would never have had the chance to nurture my passion.
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 substantial collections of games for Mega Drive, Genesis, Super NES, Super Famicom, PC Engine, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS...
In practice, I have a soft spot for cartridge games: they were the first ones I had, and they have a special place on my shelves (with the sole exception of the Nintendo 64, whose polygons have aged rather badly, in my opinion).
Then there are Dreamcast, Saturn, PlayStation, NeoGeo CD, PlayStation 2 and other titles, but everything is stored in sturdy boxes or protected spaces that safeguard and shelter cartridges and discs: space is limited and I had to optimize it as much as possible. I keep within easy reach only the titles that, from time to time, I need for work (mostly RPGs, J-RPGs, tactical RPGs).
Absolutely, my favorite titles are Joust, Kick Off 2 (but also SWOS), Dino Dini's Soccer, Tetris, F-Zero, Super Mario All-Stars, Galaga, Raiden, Xevious, The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Panel De Pon/Tetris Attack, Forza Motorsport... and Puzzle Bobble, the game that - in the Super Famicom version - actually changed my life.
There would be many others, even very recent ones (three names for all: Mario Kart 8, Dead Cells and The Binding Of Isaac), but I’ll stop here.
By grading your item, you made an important choice and from now on it has become something more, not just as a collectible value. How did you become familiar with the world of grading? Have you already had similar experiences with other collections of yours, even ones different from video game ones?
Here I need to make a premise: I have worked in the video game industry since 1993 (I started writing for Micro & Personal Computer and Game Power, then moved on to Namco, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sunsoft, and more) and at some point I found myself with a certain number of still-sealed video games: long story short, I would buy a game for myself, but often the same title would be sent to me by the developer or publisher.
Era a very common exchange of favors, and the duplicate remained locked away when work colleagues did not want it for themselves.
Fino to 2022 I had no idea what grading was, and only thanks to two American collectors who recommended it to me did I decide to have a good portion of the sealed games I had in the office certified. I had no prior experience, but it seemed like a great idea to me because certification guarantees the owner (as well as any buyers) the authenticity of what they have.
Moreover, in the U.S.A. and Canada the market for "graded" video games was already established, with several thousand active collectors and dealers, following the example of what had happened to sports cards and comic books: take a look at the prices achieved by the best-known auction houses, such as Heritage Auctions and Goldin, and you will understand what I mean...
The certification adds value to the video game: it is a guarantee for a potential buyer. The "graded" market is very thriving in the United States and Canada, and it is growing in other geographic areas.
Until three years ago I didn’t even know what it was, but I had to change my mind: to think that a market does not exist or is not relevant just because I don’t know it would be short-sighted. It’s like blue jeans, like Baywatch, like rock’n’roll: it took some time, but in the end it will find its place here in Italy too (in other European countries it has already been an established reality for some time).
What were the main reasons why you wanted to have the game you brought graded? Beyond the nostalgic aspects tied to the game, are there other motivations behind the decision to trust TGM's grading process?
The main reason was the preservation of two video games very dear to me.
Having two objects that make a fine (beautiful!) display of themselves behind my desk is a tangible sign of my passion. I can keep them on display in a case that enhances them, as well as protects them. My decision to try the The Games Market service came after speaking with Alberto: he struck me as someone with their gaze set far ahead but with both feet firmly on the ground, and I appreciated the project’s practical foresight.
The best motivations, however, I only had after receiving the games, certified and in their case, when the experts from TGM informed me of the flaws - minimal but objective - in my beloved titles: they proved to have a keen and careful eye - darn them! :-D - a quality that goes along with the technologies they use.
Every game has its own story, just as it does its owner; the bond that is established goes far beyond the simple owner-object pairing. When the title was finally returned to you graded, what did you feel?
I felt relieved!
I would never have opened a sealed 1985 video game, because I have a loose copy, or because it is available in the Arcade Archives for Switch or PS4/5, and knowing that that colorful box would be protected by a sturdy case gave me a feeling of peace.
Then, after placing them "in position", I said to myself that they are really nice to look at and to show.
To conclude, we can only ask you the classic question par excellence: which aspects of our service did you like the most? Thank you not only for giving us your time, but also for choosing to place your trust in us!
I liked several aspects, first and foremost the rigor/strictness of the evaluation, followed by the moderately fast analysis/evaluation process and the competitive price.
Appreciate very much also the technological aspect of the grading procedure offered by TGM, but I was even more favorably impressed by the analysis made by the human eye that highlighted the small imperfections.
Allow me to repeat myself: "Damn them!" :-D
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.