Ultimate Play the Game

 Ultimate Play the Game was created in the Leicestershire town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in 1982 by Tim and Chris Stamper. their friend John Lathbury, and Tim's girlfriend (later wife) Carole Ward. Other members of the Stamper family were also involved in the early operation and management of the company, which was initially located in a house that was located next to the family-run newsagent. Both Tim and Chris were involved in the development of arcade games, as well as, according to one article Konami's Gyruss and were credited as "the most knowledgeable gaming design team for arcades in Britain" before tiring of working for others and quit to establish Ashby Computers and Graphics. The first transaction for ACG was arcade conversion kits. After that, ACG moved into the home software market , and produced games under the Ultimate Play the Game brand. Ashby released four arcade games: Blue Print for Bally-Midway as well as Grasspin, Dingo and Saturn for Jaleco.Ultimate's first release was Jetpac in May 1983, for the 16K Spectrum. Tim Stamper, in 1983 interview, claimed that 16K computers were targeted because their smaller size meant that they could be developed more quickly. They could create one or two games in 16K within one month. Jetpac was a commercial success. The Spectrum version sold over 300,000 copies, providing the company with a high turnover of more than PS1 million. Jetpac, Pssst, Tranz Am and Cookie were the only ten games ever to be released on the 16K ROM format , which was intended for use with ZX Interface 2. ZX Interface 2. The four games which were ever released in 16K ROM format and used in conjunction with the ZX Interface. These were Jetpac Pssst Am, Cookie, as well as Lunar Jetman. The games were well-received from gaming media. CRASH magazine was particularly amazed by the results that Ultimate did with the extra memory Lunar Jetman was equipped with. [15It was Sabre Wulf was released in 1984, the very first game in the Sabreman series and priced at an estimated retail price (PS9.95). The cost of Ultimate games had been only PS5.50 that was the norm for Spectrum arcade-style games of the time. The reason for this increased price was to discourage copying, with the thought that if consumers were paying more for a game, they'd be less inclined to give away copies. This was also when Ultimate introduced the "big box" packaging. It was included with all subsequent Spectrum releases , including Gunfright as well as other games on other platforms. The company believed it would serve to justify the higher price and encourage gamers to not copy the game. Sabre Wulf was able to sell more than 350,000 copies on its own on the Spectrum. In the late summer of 1984, the Sabreman Series' two subsequent installments were released. Underwurlde was followed by Knight Lore. Knight Lore was a major milestone on the home computer gaming market. It was a forced-perspective isometric camera, dubbed Filmation. This style would be widely copied in other games such as Batman and Head Over Heels by Ocean Software. Knight Lore as well as some of its Filmation sequels, like Alien 8, was actually developed prior to Sabre Wulf but Ultimate decided that it could have a potentially negative impact on sales for the relatively primitive Sabre Wulf, so it was put off until late in 1984.