Ultimate Play the Game

 Ultimate Play the Game was started 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 and was initially located in a home next to the family-run newsagent. Chris and Tim were both experienced in developing arcade games. Chris was, according to one source, Konami's Gyruss. They claimed to be the "most experienced arcade game design team in Britain" before they decided to quit their jobs and begin Ashby Computers and Graphics. The company's first business was the creation of a conversion kit for arcades before ACG was able to move into the market for home-based games under the Ultimate Play the Game trademark. Blue Print for Bally-Midway, Dingo, Grasspin and Saturn for Jaleco were the first arcade games launched by Ashby. The first Ultimate release, Jetpac, was May 1983, a game for 16K Spectrum. Tim Stamper stated that 16K machines were chosen as they're smaller and allow for faster development. They could produce two 16K games each month or one 48K game in a single month. Jetpac was a commercial success. The Spectrum version sold over 300,000 copies, providing the company with a turnover of more than PS1 million. Jetpac, Pssst and Tranz Am were among the ten games ever released in 16K ROM format. These four games were also republished by Sinclair Research on cassette with distinctive silver inlay cards for inclusion in ZX Spectrum bundles. The games received very well from gaming media. CRASH magazine was particularly impressed with what Ultimate was able to achieve with the additional memory Lunar Jetman had. [15] Sabre Wulf appeared in 1984. It was the first Sabreman game and the first game to be released with a retail recommendation of PS9.95. The cost of Ultimate games had been only PS5.50 as was the norm for Spectrum arcade-style games at the time . This increase was to discourage pirates, the reasoning that if consumers were paying more for a game, they'd be less inclined to distribute copies. It was also when Ultimate launched the "big box" packaging. It was included for all subsequent Spectrum games up to Gunfright and with additional releases for other platforms. The company believed that it would serve to justify the higher price and also encourage players to not copy the game. This strategy proved successful as Sabre Wulf sold over 350,000 copies within its first year on the Spectrum. In the latter half of 1984, the Sabreman Series' next two installments were released. Underwurlde quickly was followed by Knight Lore. Knight Lore was a major breakthrough in the computer-based home gaming market. It employed a forced perspective isometric camera, dubbed Filmation. The style was to be copied extensively in other games, such as Batman and Head Over Heels by Ocean Software. Knight Lore as well as its Filmation sequels Alien 8 were actually completed prior to Sabre Wulf. However, Ultimate was concerned that it could be detrimental to Sabre Wulf's business, so it was put off until the end of 1984.