Heroines of Time: Getting to Know Jessica Armanetti

Hello and thank you very much for the interview:) 

I'm Jessica, also known as MissHatred, and I am definitely both a huge video game enthusiast and a collector, especially of collector's editions or autographed and graded video games. 

I started playing video games when I was about 5 years old, together with my dad, on Doom 93; then there was my mother, who introduced me to the most beautiful graphic adventures like Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, King Quest, Syberia, and so on.

Then there was the competitive period with Halo 3 and Halo Reach, I was a pro player for Inferno Esports from 2009 to 2011 or so, and now I actively work in the video game field on various fronts.

As for collecting, what can I say: I have always been fascinated by video games ever since I was very young. Not only by the games themselves, but also by their packaging, instruction manuals, limited-edition consoles, Collector’s Editions, and soundtracks: I started collecting more seriously around the age of 18, turning that lifelong passion into a true collection.

I have always also loved discovering the people who hide behind video games: creators, writers, composers, and everyone who helps bring to life the worlds that we end up loving.

If one can define it that way, my first real “collectible item” related to video games, beyond Collector’s Editions, was a simple sheet of questions: during the Milan preview of Metal Gear Rising, I attended the event together with Dino Lanaro for Gamerland, the video game show aired on Italia 2, and we were given the task of interviewing Hideo Kojima (he did the interviewing alone, just to be clear, I was not yet able to!). 

Keeping that sheet with the questions prepared for that occasion even today represents, for me, one of the most precious memories of 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. 

You said exactly the right thing, collecting means reliving moments from the past that we are attached to!

I am an extremely nostalgic person, I love replaying my video games and remembering all the moments I have spent with them.

What a difficult question, anyway! I think there is a favorite video game for every moment of our lives; I’d say Doom for the memories I had with my dad, then Bloodborne because it was a game that helped me get over his passing, then Monkey Island for the laughs with my mom, Gothic because it was my first real serious RPG that I finished a thousand times, Halo and Gears because playing competitively shaped my character and thanks to Live I met the best friends I’ve ever had, more recent ones are definitely Red Dead Redemption 2 which changed my life and my perception of many aspects of it, then the Metal Gear saga because I love Kojima’s madness and his stories and finally Baldur's Gate because it drew a line of no return in the world of video games, bringing CRPGs back to a level that was thought impossible anymore (and then there is Astarion).

However, I cannot leave out Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Witcher, Death Stranding, God of War, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, The Sims, Dead Space and a thousand other titles: each of them has left something in me, I truly love them all!

⁠By grading your title, you made an important choice and from now on it has become something more, not only as a collectible value. How did you get to know the grading world? Have you already had similar experiences with other collections of yours, even different from video game ones?

As I was telling you, I love being able to preserve, on a video game, or an artbook or vinyl, whatever it may be, the signature of someone who worked on that work.

I already knew the world of grading, but I admit that I had always been a little afraid of the idea of shipping my coins far away. 

Thanks to the team at The Games Market, who explained everything to me in great detail, I decided to take the step and started having several of my autographed video games graded.

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 procedure?

Over the years I have unfortunately seen many pieces I cared deeply about deteriorate: the boxed editions of Monkey Island or Grim Fandango, for example, were damaged during moves, lost color, and inevitably suffered from the passage of time. 

I don’t want it to happen again, especially when it comes to games that also hold an autograph or a special memory! 

For this reason, keeping them inside a display case is, for me, the ideal solution: not only to protect them, but also to preserve those priceless memories that each piece carries with it.

⁠Each game has its own story, just like its owner; the bond that is created goes far beyond the simple owner-object relationship. When the title was finally returned to you graded, what did you feel?

I was very happy about it. 

Seeing Red Dead Redemption 2 with the signatures of Roger Clark and Rob Wiethoff, graded and preserved inside a display case, perfectly intact, and knowing that it will remain that way over time, made me incredibly emotional!

Not to mention the Custom Box with the signed Death Stranding Collector's Edition by Troy Baker, with custom spaces to display the BB Pod and the Steelbook. 

For me, it is like observing a work of art or a painting: a way to do justice to a video game that I love deeply and that has meant so much in my life. 

It is the recognition that that game deserves, but also the best way to preserve something that for me has ENORMOUS sentimental value!

To conclude, we can only ask you the classic ritual question: 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!

But thank you very much, too! Well, definitely the attention and the MANIACAL care in handling video games, starting with the guides to teach people how to send in the games that need to be graded, all the way to the care with which the entire process is handled and the delivery of the finished product.

The X-ray service is also truly impressive: being able to accurately verify what is actually inside the packages is extremely important.  

It is not uncommon to discover surprising cases, such as collectors who had purchased altered or non-compliant titles, from the wrong discs inside the cases (this happened to me too!) to alleged sealed CIB games that were actually “repackaged” with plastic applied later.