Ultimate Play the Game

 Ultimate Play the Game was established 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. The company's headquarters were in a house close to the family-owned newsstand. Chris and Tim each had experience with arcade game development. Chris was, according to one account, Konami's Gyruss. They claimed to be the "most skilled arcade design team in Britain" before they decided to leave their jobs to create Ashby Computers and Graphics. The first venture of ACG was creating arcade conversion kit and later ACG began to enter the home market to develop games under the Ultimate Play the Game trademark. Blue Print was released by Ashby for Bally-Midway and Grasspin for Dingo. The Ultimate Play the Game's debut release was Jetpac for the 16K Spectrum in May 1983. Tim Stamper, in 1983 interview, stated that 16K machines were targeted because their smaller size meant that they could be developed more quickly. They could produce one or two games in 16K within one month. Jetpac was a massive commercial success; the Spectrum version alone sold more than 300,000 copies , providing the company with a turnover in excess of PS1 million.This was then followed by three additional 16K games, Pssst in June, Tranz Am and Cookie prior to when Ultimate stepped up to the 48K Spectrum. Jetpac, Pssst. Tranz Am. and Cookie were the only four games released on 16K ROMs for ZX Interface 2. ZX Interface 2. The four games that were ever released in the 16K ROM format and used in conjunction with the ZX Interface. They were Jetpac, Pssst, Tranz Am Cookies, Jetpac, as well as Lunar Jetman. Both games received a positive reception from the media for gaming. CRASH magazine praised Ultimate's use of the memory Lunar Jetman offered. In 1984 came Sabre Wulf, the first of the Sabreman series, and the first release with a recommended retail price of PS9.95. The initial price for Ultimate games was PS5.50. It was a common practice in Spectrum arcade-style games of the day. This was to try to prevent piracy. This coincided with the introduction of the distinctive Ultimate "big box" packaging (used for all future Spectrum games up to Gunfright and in a variety of releases on other platforms) that the company thought could also help justify the price increase and encourage people to purchase the game rather than copy it. The strategy paid off since Sabre Wulf went on to sell more than 350,000 copies on the Spectrum all by itself. This was followed by the release in late 1984 of the next two instalments in the Sabreman series. The series was quickly and then Knight Lore. Knight Lore was a huge breakthrough in the computer-based home gaming market. It employed a forced perspective, isometric viewpoint called Filmation. This design would be extensively copied in other games, like Batman and Head Over Heels by Ocean Software. Knight Lore along with some of its Filmation sequel Alien 8, was actually finished before Sabre Wulf but Ultimate decided that it could have a potentially adverse effect on sales of the more basic Sabre Wulf, so it was postponed until late 1984