Tim and Chris Stamper (artist and programmer, respectively) are the co-founders of Ashby Computers & Graphics (better known as Ultimate Play the Game) and later Rare. They have produced video games such as Sabre Wulf and Knight Lore for the 8-bit home computers. However, they had problems with software piracy, which was common in the 1980s, so they shifted their attention to cartridge-based games, which could not be easily copied. At a gaming convention in 1985, the Stamper brothers proposed their work to Nintendo of America. At the time, Nintendo had been enjoying monster sales from their third-generation Nintendo Entertainment System and in-house titles, and were not interested in licensing their work. Undeterred, Tim Stamper spent six months cracking the Nintendo code. At the next gaming convention, the Stampers arrived with a skiing game called Slalom, making for a better reception. Nintendo bought the game for an undisclosed amount, adding that to their in-house "Sports Series" and granted a license to Rare to create games. Battletoads, Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct and GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo systems. Most recently Rare created Kameo: Elements of Power, Perfect Dark Zero and Viva Piñata for Microsoft's Xbox 360.
On 2 January 2007, it was announced by 1UP.com that both Tim and Chris Stamper had left Rare to "pursue other opportunities", leaving no statement regarding plans.
In 2004 Tim Stamper paid £17m for Eydon Hall in Northamptonshire.
Famous quotes containing the words chris and/or stamper:
“When I get all these accolades for being true to myself, I say, “Who else can I be? I can’t be Chris Evert.””
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“A little way within the gloom a roebuck raised his eyes
Brimful of starlight, and he said: The Stamper of the Skies,
He is a gentle roebuck; for how else, I pray, could He
Conceive a thing so sad and soft, a gentle thing like me?”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)