Editing Ultimate Play the Game (section)

==History==
===Early history and rise===
Ultimate Play the Game was founded in the [[Leicestershire]] town of [[Ashby-de-la-Zouch]] in 1982 by [[Tim and Chris Stamper]],<ref>{{citation | title=In search of the ultimate game | journal=Home Computing Weekly | date=August 1983 | issue=23 | page=33 | url=https://archive.org/stream/home-computing-weekly-023/Home_Computing_Weekly_023#page/n32/mode/1up }}</ref> their friend John Lathbury, and Tim's girlfriend (later wife) Carole Ward.<ref name="rgamer20">{{citation |title=A Rare Breed | magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] | issue=20 | pages=26–33 | publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] | date= January 2006 }}</ref><ref name="Jones King"/> Other members of the Stamper family were also involved in the early running and support of the company, which was initially located in a house next to the family-run newsagent.<ref name="rgamer20"/><ref name="Jones King">Jones, Darran and King, Ryan. ''[[X-One|X360]] Magazine'' supplemental: ''Rare – The Ultimate Story'', page 9. [[Imagine Publishing]], 2005.</ref> Both Tim and Chris had worked in arcade game development<ref name="rgamer20"/><ref name="CRASH62p9"/> including, according to one report, [[Konami]]'s ''[[Gyruss]]'',<ref name=cuser22>{{citation | title=Fortress Ultimate| journal=[[Commodore User]] | issue=22 | pages=20–21 | publisher=[[EMAP]] | date=July 1985 | url=https://archive.org/stream/commodore-user-magazine-22/Commodore_User_Issue_22_1985_Jul#page/n19/mode/2up }}</ref> and claimed to be "the most experienced arcade video game design team in Britain" until tiring of working for others and leaving to start Ashby Computers and Graphics.<ref name=pcg1>{{citation | title=PSST is this the Ultimate? | journal=[[Personal Computer Games]] | date=June 1983 | issue=1 | page=5 | url=https://archive.org/stream/personalcomputergames-magazine-01/PersonalComputerGames_01#page/n6/mode/1up }}</ref> This led to ACG's initial trade being in creating arcade conversion kits,<ref name="rgamer20"/><ref name="Jones King"/> before moving into the home computer software market developing games under the Ultimate Play the Game name. Ashby released four arcade games: [[Blue Print (video game)|''Blue Print'']] for [[Midway Games|Bally-Midway]], and ''Grasspin'', ''Dingo'' and ''Saturn'' for [[Jaleco]].

Ultimate's first game was ''[[Jetpac]]'' in May 1983 for the 16K Spectrum.<ref name=pcg1/> In a 1983 interview, Tim Stamper said that they deliberately targeted 16K machines as their smaller size meant development time was much shorter, claiming they could produce two 16K games in one month, or one 48K game.<ref name='pcwultimate'>{{cite magazine |title=The gang of four|magazine=Popular Computing Weekly|issue=33|publisher=Sunshine Publications|date=18 August 1983|page=13|url=https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=2768&page=13|access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref> Jetpac was a huge commercial success selling more than 300,000 copies<ref name=history>{{cite journal|title=1983: A Spaceman's Odyssey - The History of Jetman|journal=Retro Gamer|date=November 2011|issue=96|page=50|url=http://scans.bytemaniacos.com/en/retro_gamer/Retro_Gamer_Issue_096.pdf|access-date=22 August 2015|publisher=Imagine|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927142453/http://scans.bytemaniacos.com/en/retro_gamer/Retro_Gamer_Issue_096.pdf|archive-date=27 September 2015}}</ref> providing the fledgling company with a turnover in excess of [[Pound sterling|£]]1&nbsp;million.<ref name="rgamer20"/>

This was followed by three further 16K releases, ''[[Pssst]]'' in June,<ref name=pcg1/> ''[[Tranz Am]]'', and ''[[Cookie (video game)|Cookie]]'', before Ultimate stepped up to the 48K Spectrum. ''Jetpac'', ''Pssst'', ''Tranz Am'' and ''Cookie'' were four of only ten games ever to be released on the 16K [[Read only memory|ROM]] format for use with the [[ZX Interface 2]]. They were also republished on cassette, with distinctive silver inlay cards, by [[Sinclair Research]].

Ultimate's first 48K releases were ''[[Lunar Jetman]]'' – a sequel to ''Jetpac'' – and ''[[Atic Atac]],'' both of which were released in late 1983.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://wos.meulie.net/pub/sinclair/magazines/PersonalComputerGames/Issue02/Pages/PersonalComputerGames0200007.jpg | date=December 1983 |title=Coming Soon... |journal=[[Personal Computer Games]] |issue=2 |page=7}}</ref> Both games were very well received by the gaming press, ''[[CRASH (magazine)|CRASH magazine]]'' in particular praising what Ultimate had managed to do with the extra memory Lunar Jetman used.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.crashonline.org.uk/01/jetman.htm | title=''Lunar Jetman'' review | work=[[CRASH (magazine)|CRASH]]| publisher=Newsfield Publications |date=February 1984 |issue=1 |page=88 }}</ref> In 1984 came ''[[Sabre Wulf]]'', the first in the ''[[Sabreman]]'' series, and the first release at a [[suggested retail price|recommended retail price]] of £9.95. The price of Ultimate titles had previously been just £5.50, which was typical for Spectrum arcade-style games at the time.<ref name="rgamer20"/> This increase was to discourage [[software piracy|piracy]], with the idea being that if customers paid more for a game they would be less inclined to give away copies.<ref>Jones, Darran and King, Ryan. ''[[X-One|X360]]'' supplemental: ''Rare – The Ultimate Story'', page 13. [[Imagine Publishing]], 2005.</ref> This coincided with the introduction of the distinctive Ultimate "big box" packaging (used with all further Spectrum releases until ''[[Gunfright]]'', and with various releases on other platforms), which the company felt might also help justify the price increase and encourage gamers to buy the game rather than copy it. The strategy paid off as ''Sabre Wulf'' went on to sell over 350,000 copies on the Spectrum alone.<ref name="tgmauthors">{{citation | title=Ultimate Play the Game feature | url=https://archive.org/stream/the-games-machine-04/TheGamesMachine04#page/n25/mode/2up |journal=[[The Games Machine]] | issue=4 | pages=27–36 | publisher=[[Newsfield Publications]] | date=March 1988 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=85625 ''Sabre Wulf''] at [[Eurogamer.net]]. Retrieved 30 October 2007.</ref> This was followed by the  release in late 1984 of the next two instalments in the Sabreman series, ''[[Underwurlde]]'' quickly followed by ''[[Knight Lore]]''.<ref name='pcgchartsjan85'>{{cite magazine |title=Ultimate Storm The Charts|magazine=Personal Computer Games|issue=23|publisher=VNU|date=January 1985|page=23|url=https://archive.org/details/Personal_Computer_Games_Issue14/page/n22/mode/2up|access-date=10 December 2021}}</ref> ''Knight Lore'' was something of a revolution in the home computer game market,<ref name="maher20140114">{{cite web | url=http://www.filfre.net/2014/01/the-legend-of-ultimate-play-the-game/ | title=The Legend of Ultimate Play the Game | work=The Digital Antiquarian | date=14 January 2014 | access-date=11 July 2014 | author=Maher, Jimmy}}</ref> using a forced-perspective [[isometric projection|isometric]] viewpoint branded [[Filmation engine|Filmation]], the style of which would be extensively copied in other games, notable examples being ''[[Batman (1986 video game)|Batman]]'' and ''[[Head Over Heels (video game)|Head Over Heels]]'' from [[Ocean Software]].<ref name="rgamer34">{{citation |title=The Making of Head Over Heels | magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] | issue=34 | pages=74–77 | publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] | date= February 2007 }}</ref> In a 1988 interview with ''CRASH'', Tim Stamper claimed that ''Knight Lore'', and some of its Filmation follow-up ''Alien 8'', was actually completed before ''Sabre Wulf'' but Ultimate decided that it could have a potentially negative effect on sales of the comparatively primitive ''Sabre Wulf'', so it was postponed until late 1984.<ref name="rgamer20"/> More recent research into the code of both games has suggested this may have been an exaggeration as the coding routines found in ''Knight Lore'' are far more optimised.<ref name="rgamer105">{{citation |title=On the trail of Mire Mare | magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] | issue=105 | pages=34–39 | publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |author=Martyn Carroll | date= July 2012 }}</ref>

{{cquote|''Knight Lore'' was finished before ''Sabre Wulf''. But we decided the market wasn't ready for it. Because if we released ''Knight Lore'' and ''Alien 8'', which was already half-finished, we wouldn't have sold ''Sabre Wulf'' ... There was a little bit of careful planning there ... We just had to sit on it because everyone else was so far behind<ref name="Best of British"/>|20px|20px|[[Tim and Chris Stamper|Tim Stamper]]|''CRASH'' magazine, April 1988}}

Ultimate won the [[Golden Joystick Award]] for Best Software House in both 1983<ref name=goldenjoy>{{cite journal|title=C&VG's Golden Joystick Awards 1983|journal=[[Computer and Video Games]]|date=June 1985|issue=29|url=https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Video_Games_Issue_029_1984-03_EMAP_Publishing_GB/Computer__Video_Games_Issue_029_1984-03_EMAP_Publishing_GB#page/n14/mode/1up|access-date=13 January 2012|page=15|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]}}</ref> and 1984.<ref name=goldenjoy1984>{{cite journal|title=C&VG's Golden Joystick Awards 1984|journal=[[Computer and Video Games]]|date=June 1985|issue=44|url=https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Video_Games_Issue_044_1985-06_EMAP_Publishing_GB/Computer__Video_Games_Issue_044_1985-06_EMAP_Publishing_GB#page/n121/mode/1up|access-date=13 January 2012|page=122|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]}}</ref>

Ultimate was criticised somewhat in the gaming media for their repeated use of the Filmation technique in subsequent games ''[[Alien 8]]'', ''[[Nightshade (1985 video game)|Nightshade]]'', ''[[Gunfright]]'' and ''[[Pentagram (video game)|Pentagram]]'',<ref>{{citation | url=https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-user-magazine-052/SinclairUser_052_Jul_1986#page/n42/mode/1up | title=''Pentagram'' review| journal=[[Sinclair User]] | issue=52 | page=43 | publisher=[[EMAP]] | date=July 1986 }}</ref> though ''Nightshade'' and ''Gunfright'' used Filmation II, a variation on the engine, resulting in a similar visual style, but significantly different gameplay, with scrolling around a large world and arcade-like play, rather than the room-based puzzles of the earlier Filmation titles.

===Decline===
With the consistent success of Ultimate's releases there were rumours of a buyout by [[Ocean Software|Ocean]], until it was announced in 1985 that the Stamper brothers had sold a minority stake in the company to [[US Gold]],<ref name="tgmauthors" /><ref name="Best of British">{{citation |url=https://archive.org/stream/Crash_No._51_1988-04_Newsfield_GB#page/n33/mode/2up | title=The Best of British – Ultimate Play the Game | journal=[[crash (magazine)|CRASH]]| publisher=[[Newsfield Publications]]| date= April 1988 | issue=51 | pages=35–38 }} [http://www.crashonline.org.uk/51/ultimate.htm Alt URL]</ref> who would continue to release games under the Ultimate label. Later titles such as ''[[Martianoids]]'' and ''[[Bubbler (video game)|Bubbler]]'' were not seen by the gaming press as being up to Ultimate's previously high standards and sales fell. US Gold released no new Ultimate games after ''Bubbler'' in 1987. A final Sabreman game, ''[[Mire Mare]]'', was trailed in earlier Sabreman games and was mentioned by ''[[Sinclair User]]'' as being next up for release,<ref>{{citation | url=https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-user-magazine-063/SinclairUser_063_Jun_1987#page/n107 | title='Mire Mare' "preview" | journal=[[Sinclair User]] | issue=63 | page=108 | publisher=[[EMAP]] | date=June 1987 }}</ref> but was quietly dropped during development.<ref name="rgamer105" /> In late 1988, Rare bought back the rights sold to US Gold and were reported to be developing games again.<ref name="CRASH62p9">{{cite journal | title=Ultimate to become less rare (News item in ''CRASH'') | journal=CRASH | publisher=[[Newsfield Publications]] | date=March 1989 | issue=62 | page=9 | url=https://archive.org/stream/crash-magazine-62/Crash_62_Mar_1989#page/n8 }}</ref> Future releases were to have included ''[[Solar Jetman]]'', which would eventually appear only on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]], although home computer conversions for the Commodore 64, [[Amiga]], and [[Atari ST]] were completed by Storm Software, but not released.<ref name="Solar Jetman">{{cite web|title= Solar Jetman – The Creators Speak | publisher=gtw64.retro-net.de | url=http://gtw64.retro-net.de/Pages/s/Creators_Solarjetman.php | access-date=17 June 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517035002/http://gtw64.retro-net.de/Pages/s/Creators_Solarjetman.php | archive-date=17 May 2009}}</ref>

===Rare Limited===
{{Main|Rare (company)}}

Shortly before the US Gold buyout, the name of another company, "Rare Limited", began appearing on the credits of Ultimate releases. This was in fact another company set up by the Stampers to develop for Ultimate, but not be subject to any Ultimate takeover. Rare (initially under the banner ''Rare: Designs on the Future'') would evolve, after Ultimate's demise, into a prolific developer for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]].<ref name="CRASH62p9"/> This led Nintendo to purchase a stake in the company, whose success was furthered with such classic [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] and [[Nintendo 64]] releases as ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' and ''[[GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye 007]]''. In 2002 Rare was purchased outright by [[Microsoft]]<ref name="Microsoft"/> for [[United States dollar|US$]]377&nbsp;million, a record fee for a video game developer, and currently develops games for the [[Xbox One]] console. At the end of 2006 Tim and Chris Stamper left Rare to "pursue other opportunities",<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3156140 | title = Rare Founders Leave to 'Pursue Other Opportunities' | access-date = 2 January 2007 | author = 1UP.com | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160528074508/http://www.1up.com/news/rare-founders-bolt | archive-date = 28 May 2016 }}</ref> ending a 24-year involvement in developing home video games.

===The Ultimate name in subsequent years===
The 1997 [[Nintendo 64]] game ''[[GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye 007]]'' contains a [[ZX Spectrum]] [[emulator]] with ten Ultimate-developed games hidden on the cartridge. This function was originally made as an experimental side project by Rare and was deactivated in the final version, but has since been unlocked through [[fan-made patch]]es.<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=18 July 2013 |url=http://kotaku.com/5897828/long-lost-emulation-easter-egg-discovered-in-goldeneye |title=Long Lost Emulation Easter Egg Discovered in GoldenEye |website=[[Kotaku]] |first=Kate |last=Cox |date=30 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401160838/http://kotaku.com/5897828/long-lost-emulation-easter-egg-discovered-in-goldeneye |archive-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2004, Rare revived Ultimate's [[Sabreman]] franchise with the release of ''[[Sabre Wulf (GBA game)|Sabre Wulf]]'' for the [[Game Boy Advance]]. A new version of ''Sabre Wulf'' for the [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] was also rumoured,<ref>[http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=85983 Sabre Wulf on Xbox?] at computerandvideogames.com.</ref> though it was never released or even officially announced. A racing game based on the Ultimate/Rare universe titled ''Sabreman Stampede'' was also in development, but was canceled.<ref>[http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=89908 Secret Rare racer revealed!] at computerandvideogames.com.</ref> In 2007, Rare released the fourth game of the ''Jetman'' series, ''[[Jetpac Refuelled]]'', for [[Xbox Live Arcade]].

On 8 December 2006 and 16 January 2007 respectively, Rare's owners [[Microsoft Corporation]] filed US and EU trademark claims on the Ultimate Play the Game name and logo. The registered purpose is "entertainment services, namely, providing an on-line computer game".<ref name="US Trademark">{{cite web |title=United States Patent and Trademark Office |url=http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=login&p_lang=english&p_d=trmk |access-date=17 June 2007 |publisher=tess2.uspto.gov}} Due to the nature of this US government site, the relevant page cannot be directly linked to, so a search must be manually performed. The EU trademark may be found here: [https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/#basic/1+1+1+1/100+100+100+100/Ultimate%20Play%20the%20Game]</ref> Emulated versions of seven Ultimate titles were later included as part of the 2015 game compilation ''[[Rare Replay]]'' for [[Xbox One]].