Ultimate Play the Game

 Ultimate Play the Game, the game based in Leicestershire, was launched in Ashby-de-la-Zouch by Tim Stamper and Chris Stamper in 1982.[8] They were close friends with John Lathbury and Tim’s girlfriend (later wife), Carole Ward. The company's headquarters were in a residence near the family-owned newsstand. Chris and Tim both had experience with arcade game development. Chris was, according to a report, Konami's Gyruss. They claimed to be the "most proficient arcade design team in Britain" before they decided to quit their jobs and create Ashby Computers and Graphics. The first transaction for ACG was arcade conversion kits. Then, ACG moved into the market for home software and began developing games under the Ultimate Play the Game brand. Blue Print was released by Ashby for Bally-Midway and Grasspin for Dingo. The Ultimate Play the Game's debut launch was Jetpac for the 16K Spectrum in May 1983. In an interview in 1983, Tim Stamper said that they deliberately targeted 16K machines as their smaller size meant development time was significantly shorter and they could create two 16K games in one month, or one 48K game. Jetpac was a massive commercial success; the Spectrum version alone sold more than 300,000 copies providing the fledgling business with an annual turnover of over PS1 million.This was later followed by three other 16K games, Pssst in June,Tranz Am and Cookie prior to when Ultimate moved to the 48K Spectrum. Jetpac, Pssst, Tranz Am and Cookie were among the 10 games ever released in the 16K ROM format for use with ZX Interface 2. ZX Interface 2. The four games were made available by Sinclair Research on cassette with distinctive silver inlay cards to be used for inclusion in ZX Spectrum bundles. Both games received a positive reception from the gaming press. CRASH magazine praised Ultimate's use of the memory Lunar Jetman provided. [15The game Sabre Wulf was released in 1984, the first installment of the Sabreman series and with the suggested retail price (PS9.95). The initial price for Ultimate titles was PS5.50. This was standard in Spectrum arcade-style games at the time. This was done in order to prevent piracy. This was also the time that Ultimate launched the "big box" packaging. It was introduced for all subsequent Spectrum games up to Gunfright and with additional releases for other platforms. The company believed it would serve to justify the higher price and make it easier for gamers to not copy the game. This was a successful strategy as Sabre Wulf went on to sell over 350,000 copies on the Spectrum alone. Then came the release in late 1984 of the two subsequent installments in the Sabreman series, Underwurlde followed by Knight Lore. Knight Lore was a significant breakthrough in the computer-based home gaming market. It featured a forced-perspective, isometric viewpoint called Filmation. The design was later to be copied extensively in other games, such as Batman and Head Over Heels by Ocean Software. Knight Lore and some of its Filmation sequel Alien 8 were actually completed before Sabre Wulf. However, Ultimate believed that it might negatively impact Sabre Wulf's business, so it was delayed until late 1984.