Ultimate Play the Game

 Ultimate Play the Game, which was a game inspired by Leicestershire, was established in Ashby-de-la-Zouch by Tim Stamper and Chris Stamper in 1982.[8] They were friends with John Lathbury and Tim’s girlfriend (later wife), Carole Ward. Others from the Stamper family were involved in the initial operation and management of the company and was initially located in a house next to the family's newsagent. Chris and Tim were both involved in the development of arcade games, including Konami's Gyruss. Chris claimed to be the "most experienced arcade videogame designer team in Britain". After getting tired of working for other companies He decided to start his own company, Ashby Computers and Graphics. The first business ACG traded was arcade conversion kits. After that, ACG moved into the home software market and developed 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. Tim Stamper stated that 16K machines were chosen as they're smaller, which allows the development of games faster. The company claimed that they could create two games in 16K each month or one 48K game within a single month. Jetpac was a commercial success. The Spectrum version sold more than 300,000 copies, which provided the company with a high turnover of more than PS1 million. Jetpac, Pssst. Tranz Am. and Cookie were the only four games ever released on 16K ROMs to ZX Interface 2. ZX Interface 2. Four of the ten games that were ever released in the 16K ROM format and used with the ZX Interface 2 were Jetpac Pssst Am Cookie, Jetpac, and Lunar Jetman. Both games were well-received the media for gaming. CRASH magazine praised Ultimate's use of the extra memory Lunar Jetman provided. [15It was Sabre Wulf was released in 1984, the first installment of the Sabreman series, and was priced at an estimated retail price (PS9.95). The Ultimate games had previously been sold at PS5.50. This was the standard for Spectrum arcade-style titles at the time. The change was introduced to stop copying. Consumers would not be inclined to lend copies to others if they paid more. This was in conjunction with the introduction of the distinctive Ultimate "big box" packaging (used in all subsequent Spectrum games up to Gunfright, and with various games for other platforms) The company believed would help justify the price increase and encourage users to purchase the game rather than copy it. This strategy worked since Sabre Wulf sold over 350,000 copies within its first year on the Spectrum. The sequel to the Sabreman series came out in 1984. Underwurlde was followed shortly by Knight Lore. Knight Lore, a forced-perspective perspective isometric view, dubbed Filmation it was a major leap forward in the home-game market. Others would follow its model, like Batman and Head Over Heels, both made by Ocean Software. Knight Lore along with some of its Filmation successors like Alien 8 Alien 8, was actually made before Sabre Wulf but Ultimate decided that it could have a negative impact on sales for the more basic Sabre Wulf, so it was delayed until late 1984.