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. Others from the Stamper family were involved in the initial management and the support of the company and was initially located in a house next to the family-owned newssagent. Chris and Tim were both experienced in developing arcade games. Chris was, according to a report, Konami's Gyruss. They claimed to be the "most proficient arcade game design team in Britain" prior to deciding to quit their jobs and begin Ashby Computers and Graphics. The company's first business being the creation of arcade conversion kits. The company then began moving into the home computer software market and releasing games under the Ultimate Play the Game name. 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 chosen because their smaller sizes meant they could develop faster. The machines could make one or two games in 16K within a month. Jetpac was a commercial success. The Spectrum version sold over 300,000 copies, which provided the company with a sales of more than PS1 million. Jetpac, Pssst and Tranz Am were the only four of 10 games ever released with 16K ROM formats. These four games were also republished by Sinclair Research on cassette with distinctive silver inlay cards for inclusion in ZX Spectrum bundles. Both games were well-received by the gaming press, CRASH magazine especially praising what Ultimate had managed to do using the additional memory Lunar Jetman used. 15 Sabre Wulf appeared in 1984. It was the first Sabreman title , and also the first release with a retail recommendation of PS9.95. The cost of Ultimate titles was just PS5.50 and was standard for Spectrum arcade-style games. At the time, this increased price was to discourage copying, with the thought that if players paid more for a game they'd be less likely to offer copies. This coincided with the introduction of Ultimate of the original "big box" packaging. The packaging was made available in every Spectrum releases , with the exception of Gunfright. The plan paid off, as Sabre Wulf went on to sell more than 350,000 copies on the Spectrum by itself. It was followed by the release in the latter half of 1984 of the two subsequent installments in the Sabreman series. The series was quickly and then Knight Lore. Knight Lore is a forced perspective isometric view, dubbed Filmation and was a major innovation in the home games market. Others would follow the same path, including Batman and Head Over Heels, both by Ocean Software. Knight Lore and some of its Filmation sequels Alien 8, were actually developed prior to Sabre Wulf. Ultimate however considered that it could have an adverse effect on Sabre Wulf's relatively primitive sales so it was put off until late in 1984.