Heroes of Time: Meet Christian Dallari
by Simon LaroccaOctober 6, 2025
Hello! Welcome to the great family of The Games Market, and thank you for agreeing to be interviewed. Every passion is born from afar, usually 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 together 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!
Mi chiamo Christian, ho superato da un po' gli "anta" (details not requested!) and I consider myself lucky to have had ten, eleven years in an unrepeatable era: that in which street sports and the first video games coexisted in perfect harmony.
Let’s talk about the very early 1980s, when it was clear that something was changing forever in the way people entertained themselves.
My first console was a Mattel Intellivision, not a random choice.
Due friends of mine had just received the Atari 2600, and almost as a challenge, its direct rival entered my home; without knowing it, I found myself witness to the first real console war in history. I still remember that Christmas of 1982, when I convinced my father to give me the Intellivision: 399,000 lire, an enormous amount for those times.
From then on it was a succession of experiences: ZX Spectrum, Commodore Amiga, the first PlayStation, then Xbox... Some consoles only brushed past me, like the NES, others marked me deeply.
Oggi I collect, study, and preserve everything that tells that story. Because every console, every game, every package is not just an object: it is a fragment of our culture, a piece of shared memory worth preserving.
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.
Per me, collecting is a way to keep alive an emotional and cultural connection with what has shaped our society.
Among my favorite titles are milestones that never stop entertaining me.
Su Intellivision, for example, I have a special connection with BurgerTime and Beamrider - games that at first glance seemed simple, but that offered a surprising strategic depth for the time.
Li ho peraltro rigiocati a distanza di 35 years, during the Covid period: challenging my children, I managed to have my name entered on Twin Galaxies as the holder of the respective world records. On Amiga, I remember Arkanoid and especially Monkey Island, which represented pure innovation, creativity and a new form of gaming experience, albeit contained in just a few kilobytes. With the first PlayStation I entered a new era with titles such as Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil.
Finally, on Xbox, Halo marked a real turning point: it was cinema, action, and multiplayer in one extraordinary experience.
The collection I am building includes 700 graded games among WATA, VGA, CGC and now also TGM, in addition to about a thousand that have not yet been graded. The concept that guides me is not nostalgia; in fact, nostalgia is the last of the elements.
My collection includes titles from every platform that has marked an era – not just for me, but for popular culture.
The NES and SEGA games, even though I did not experience them firsthand, I made them my own over time, through study and passion, because collecting, for me, is first and foremost a cultural act.
It is not just an archive but identity; it is shared memory; it is a lens through which we can read the evolution of our collective imagination. Video games are a milestone in the development of contemporary culture. They not only tell who we were and who we are, but also help define who we will be, in a wonderful evolutionary journey that blends technology, industry, art, and thought.
By having your title graded, you made an important choice and from now on it has become something more, not just as a collectible item. How did you get to know the world of grading? Have you already had similar experiences with other collections of yours, even different from video games?
I have been a collector of contemporary art for over twenty years, and I became acquainted with the world of grading in 2019, consulting the catalogs of Heritage Auctions - the third auction house in the world by sales volume in the art and collectibles sector.
Fu in that year that Heritage began to offer auctions dedicated to video games graded by WATA and VGA. It was while observing that new category that I grasped the revolutionary potential of this emerging market.
That was the beginning of a paradigm shift: video games were entering a new phase of legitimacy, not only as a form of entertainment but as a cultural asset, an art form, and an institutional collectible.
The definitive sign, for me, was precisely that convergence between prestigious auction houses and professional certification tools.
It was at that moment that I understood that something had changed forever.
Non only an investment perspective moved me, but the awareness that something important was finally moving in recognizing the value of video games as a cultural and generational object. Seeing it preserved in a display case, crystallized in time, took on a deep meaning: it is a tribute to its historical importance and its impact on society.
Yes, I have had similar experiences in other collecting areas as well, such as Cards and VHS.
In all these worlds, grading represents a turning point: a way to preserve, certify, and give full dignity to what tells who we are as a society and in a way that belongs directly to us.
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 motivations behind your decision to entrust TGM with the grading process?
The choice to entrust myself to TGM was well considered. At TGM, I found, first and foremost, a thoughtful, passionate interlocutor who is fully aware of the cultural role that video games are taking on. In other words - or perhaps in more direct words - I found someone who shares my same vision.
I deeply appreciated the care with which each individual piece is handled, the philological attention to detail, the transparency, and the concrete desire to establish a dialogue with the community.
All elements that fully reflect my approach to collecting.
But it would not have been enough if I had not perceived the solidity and clear direction of the project: TGM does not limit itself to certifying, but aspires to grow, establish itself, and carve out a credible place in the market and among cultural institutions. The fact that it wants to present itself as a partner of European museums, events, and auction houses represents, for me, the decisive turning point. It was precisely this horizon that convinced me, without hesitation, that my games had to enter - beyond the WATA, VGA, and CGC cases - also the TGM cases.
Every game has its own story, as does its owner; the bond that is formed goes far beyond the simple owner-object relationship. When the title was finally returned to you graded, what did you feel?
Question that deserves a response that is not superficial.
Defining that moment as the completion of a journey: research, selection, care, protection.
It is like seeing a fragment of popular culture - which for years had been treated superficially - finally acquire the dignity it deserves, enclosed in a display case that does not separate it from the world, but places it in the right place, gives it a voice.
I feel proud, because a small part of the credit is also mine and I don’t care that others recognize it; that personal sense of gratification given to me by being aware that I contributed to the crystallization of a piece of our history.
To conclude, we can only ask you the classic question par excellence: 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!
What struck me most is the genuine passion you put into your work, the attention to every detail, the professionalism and expertise you convey at every stage of the process.
Your decade of experience in the world of video games is clearly evident, as is the desire to build something solid and valuable for the collectors’ community. I don’t want to dwell too much on the speed of the service — which there was, anyway — because for me it was never speed that made the difference, but quality.
And the quality, from you, is evident.
From transparency to communication, from precision in grading to the vision you carry forward.
The care for detail is perhaps the aspect that truly impressed me the most of all.
The care for detail is perhaps the aspect that truly impressed me the most of all.
Great guys, truly. Keep it up.
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.