For a period of five years, Crash, the ZX Spectrum magazine, tried tirelessly to secure an interview with the creators of Ultimate Play the Game, who had established themselves as one of the leading game developers in the UK. However, they received no response until one day in early 1988, when Crash finally received a phone call from Ultimate. They had finally agreed to speak.
Ultimate Play the Game, a trading name for Ashby Computers and Graphics, was founded in 1982 by the Stamper family, consisting of brothers Chris and Tim, Tim’s future wife Carole Ward, and programmer John Lathbury. Even early on, the Stampers were confident in their abilities, which they had developed while creating various arcade games. Tim Stamper stated in an issue of Home Computing Weekly in August that they chose the company name because they believed it represented their products as the ultimate games. The brothers focused on game design and creation, while Carole handled administrative tasks and contributed artwork for their initial successes. One of these early successes was Jetpac, a home computer game that propelled the company into the spotlight and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
Initially, Ultimate focused on developing games for the ZX Spectrum, the UK’s primary home computer, despite their initial reservations about its technical limitations. Tim Stamper expressed his initial disdain for the Spectrum in the 1988 interview with Crash, calling it a “piece of garbage.” However, the Stampers grew to appreciate the computer due to its widespread popularity in the UK and the commercial opportunities it presented. After starting their careers by creating arcade games in a limited UK market, the Stampers redirected their talents towards developing games for home computers.
Jetpac, one of Ultimate’s earliest hit games for the ZX Spectrum, was highly regarded by many of their long-standing fans. Despite being a simple game coded in less than 16K, Jetpac successfully replicated the thrills of arcade-style games for home players. Its protagonist, Jetman, who would later become an unofficial mascot for Ultimate, navigates platforms, collects rocket parts, refuels, and moves on to the next alien-infested location. ZX Computing magazine praised the game’s graphics, noting their fantastic quality and the smoothness of the gameplay.
Building on the incredible success of Jetpac, the Stampers released several more impressive games for the ZX Spectrum. In the summer of 1983, they launched Pssst, Cookie, and the driving game Tranz Am, before transitioning to the more advanced 48K Spectrum model. In the autumn of 1983, they released Lunar Jetman, which received massive acclaim from the dedicated Spectrum press. The Stampers quickly followed up with the adventure game Atic Atac. At the same time, they were exploring a new console from Japan called “the Nintendo,” which they believed had enormous potential. This console eventually became the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
With their success continuing to grow, Ultimate became one of the UK’s top game publishers, having released six high-quality games in less than a year. However, in 1985, the Stampers made a surprising move, departing from the home computer market. They sold the Ultimate brand to rival software publisher US Gold and rebranded their company as Rare, focusing on console games. This decision marked a significant shift in the UK gaming industry, with the country’s most successful programmers leaving behind the computer that had propelled their success.
Under the Rare name, they released several NES games, including Slalom and Wizards & Warriors. The company’s reputation grew, and Nintendo recognized their technical expertise, making Rare its first western developer. Rare continued their prolific output, primarily focusing on the NES platform and publishing over 30 games by the early 90s. Their breakthrough on the next-generation Super Nintendo Entertainment System came with the game Battletoads, which was inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Nintendo had such confidence in Rare that they entrusted the developer with one of their beloved properties, Donkey Kong.
Rare produced further successful games, including Killer Instinct and two more Donkey Kong Country games. However, their true groundbreaking success came with the Nintendo 64 console and the critically acclaimed game GoldenEye 007. Rare’s partnership with Nintendo continued to flourish, solidifying their position as one of the top game developers in the industry.