Zambia’s game collecting enthusiast
Shaahid Seedat is a 21-year-old Zambian with a passion for gaming. While Shaahid’s proficiency as a gamer cannot be questioned, he’s mostly revered as the dude with the largest collection of games, in Zambia. A collection of 3000+ titles on multiple platforms, which he stores in boxes and cabinets in different rooms across the house. He’s entire collection amassed over a course of 12 years.
Shaahid is also an ardent Trophy Hunter, which has indelibly earned him the admiration of many gamers in Zambia and in Africa.
With a current standing of over 294 Platinum trophies on PSN (Playstation Network), Shaahid currently ranks in Top 10 in Africa and Top 3000 in the world.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Shaahid’s sanctum where we got to talk a little about his gaming journey.
What was your first experience with Video games?
When I was younger I never had the traditional consoles. Just a PC with 128mb and an 8gig hard drive. My first gaming experience must have been Super Mario on the floppy disk and a tactical 3rd person shooter called Hidden and Dangerous Deluxe, which I’d say was my first in-depth gaming experience. I was about 6/7years old at the time, and I first started by watching my sister play. She was a bit of a “bully” back then as most older siblings tend to be, and she never allowed me to play, so I mostly sat and watched. One day she got frustrated cause she couldn’t get past the first level that’s when she asked me to try. I planned the whole thing out on a piece of paper and I ended up beating the level. We later played the rest of the game together, until completion.
When did you make the jump from PC to Console?
Believe it or not, it was only in 2007 that I got my first console. It was a PS1 given to me with a booklet, a copy of F1 2000, a Tekken3 demo, but sadly… no cables. I waited a full year until August 2008 before I could get cables and a new game: Metal Gear Solid.
I read that booklet every single day and I kept telling myself ‘This is the game I wanna play, this is the game I wanna play’ until I finally got it.
Not too long after getting my PS1 I acquired a PSP, with: Killzone Liberation, Smackdown Vs. RAW 2008, PES 2008 and Pursuit Force. Those were my first four PSP games. Combined with my PS1 games I had a total of seven games at that point in time.
What made you really want to build a collection of games?
I had a friend named Aadeel Bobat, who had about twenty PSP games. There were also my other friends from school who had PSPs and I got into the habit of borrowing games from them on a Friday and returning them on a Monday; since most of them were not trusting enough to let me keep their games for longer periods. Most of the time I would finish the games and other times I couldn’t, but I slowly got the reputation of ‘Shaahid can finish hard games in a short time.’ This was to the point where a lot of people that couldn’t finish certain games would just give me their PSPs or their memory sticks for the weekend to beat games for them. I was that guy always going ‘Hi how are you. Can I have a game? Can I borrow a game?’ I didn’t like that I constantly had to ask. In the end, I was resolved to owning my own collection.
As a high performing student, Shaahid bought a great deal of the games that sit in his collection from winning a lot of what he describes as “nerdy” competitions, such as Essay writing and Science fairs; all through high school. He would save up his earnings which he’d later use to invest in his game collecting lifestyle.
I remember all my friends at school talking about Grand Theft Auto: IV, and I was just there like ‘Dude! I don’t even know what Vice City is.’ It was such a daunting thing. It was only up until unlimited internet bundles were introduced on the Blackberry somewhere in 2009, which I was able to do proper research online; and to my surprise, there were great catalogs of games I had missed out on. My first order of business after that was to get all the HD remasters; which helped me get back the time lost on previous consoles. I literally experienced all the Ratchet and Clank games on PS3 thanks to the remasters.
How much do you think your entire collection is worth?
I can’t put an exact figure on it, but I know it’s A LOT. We’re talking about a collection that spans over ten years. This year marks eleven to twelve years of collecting games. I would probably have to go back and revaluate… but I know it’s substantial.
Are your parents supportive of your gaming life?
My dad is more ‘Do you, bro! You’re earning your money now, enjoy it however you want. ’ while my Mom is my biggest supporter. She watches me play and she’s always in the background coaching me ‘Do this and do that’ and I’m like ‘that’s not even how the game works’ and we laugh about it. It’s so much fun.
In the early days, I had to teach her how to look at editions when I needed games with specific region codes. Over time she’s become knowledgeable of what to look for when buying games. Now she’s always keeping an eye out for games she thinks I might like; especially when she travels. I make a budget, give her the money, and she sends me pictures and I choose what I want.
Of all the limited editions you own, which one has your heart?
I have two of them. One’s actually a recent acquisition: The Witcher3. That one was such a rare find. I was just playing around on eBay when I came across it. I offered the seller such a ridiculous amount, and to my surprise, he accepted. We’re looking at something in the £200 range and I only got it for 40. I couldn’t believe my luck.
The other one is the Metal Gear Solid: V, limited edition with the prosthetic arm and everything. It’s only recently since acquiring a job that I’ve gotten into adding Limited Editions to my collection.
What game would you cite as the best game you’ve ever played?
It has to come down to the first Metal Gear Solid or the third Metal Gear Solid. I finished the first MGS about a hundred times; because I had little to no other games when I got it, and a whole lot of time to play it. I’ve perfected that game. I’ve even finished it on Extreme difficulty in under two hours. I basically know every nook and cranny of that game. It’s definitely my favorite.
But the best game will have to be Metal Gear Solid3. Not the original, but Subsistence, which had a free-roam camera. With that addition, it’s easily the best game I’ve ever played. Without it, I’d give the label to MGS1.
What do you hope for gaming in the future?
For it to become more mainstream…at least more mainstream than it already is. I’d love to see more parents encourage their kids to take up gaming and for them to take up gaming themselves. A game is an outlet for a lot of emotions be it negative or positive. If you play the right stuff, it makes life so much bearable. Especially if you find video games that are helpful for your mental health.
I’d like for more people to play and discuss games. Gaming has such a great social aspect to it nowadays. It’s so much easier to reach out to Devs (developers) and to form connections with other players across the world.
Gaming is also a great bonding tool, I believe. The most exciting thing for me is the future of my nephew, when he grows up, he’s got everything available to him from ’98 to current date. I’m not just leaving him an invaluable collection of games, but an invaluable collection of experiences.
When Shaahid is not collecting video games or playing them, he’s usually satisfying his sweet tooth cravings or enjoying a Cheddar Cheese Steak at one of his favorite restaurants. Shaahid has a deep love for numbers and an interest in understanding how large companies work. He not too long ago graduated from the Zambia Centre for Accounting Studies (ZCAS) where he studied ACCA. He graduated 2nd best in Zambia and 88th in the world, for 2017.
follow Shaahid on social media:
https://twitter.com/shaahidseedat
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