Eye of Judgement cards copied

By Robert Purchese Published 29 October, 2007

Join us in prison.

The Eye of Judgement can scan fake cards produced by colour printers, as those of you with fraudulent tendencies have found out.

It comes off the back of Sony incorporating numerous anti-piracy measures like special inks into its card creation, presumably so it could make lots of money from booster packs and additional decks sold in shops.

However, keen-eyed Kotaku decided to try a copy of a card using a bog-standard printer and found that it behaved exactly as its paid-for counterpart. Whoops.

Booster Packs currently retail for around GBP 2.49 and additional decks sell for GBP 9.99. We are waiting to hear back from Sony about how it will go about sorting this all out.

The Eye of Judgement was released here last Friday and comes bundled with the PlayStation Eye for GBP 59.99. You use the new hardware to scan your fancy cards into the game and battle your opponents for control of a grid.

And while the arrival of counterfeit cards may give cheaters a much more juicy selection of units, it won't fundamentally break the game.

Pop over to our Eye of Judgement gamepage for more information.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (50) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Steroyd #1 4 years ago

    lolz

  • siro #2 4 years ago

    This is so funny, I'd love to buy a PS3 just for printing all those creatures myself and giving them away to poor exploited children (how poor are they if they own that console!?). No, actually I wouldn't, but it would be nice to read about some modern age Robin Hood doing so. ;)

  • makememoo #3 4 years ago

    by Robin Hood you mean Osama Bin-Robin Hood right? Because as we know, all these piracy things fund terrorism.

  • Decap #4 4 years ago

    Heh, how long does it take for those cards to show up as torrents online? Talk about a deal-breaker when everyone has uber-cards. Kinda breaks the whole idea.

  • Moz #5 4 years ago

    Surely the special inks just make it harder for people to copy the card and then sell them on as the real thing.

    The camera surely isn't good enough to be able to spot the difference, if they'd wanted to stop you from using fake cards they would have to have done something like putting a UV light on the camera using UV inks for the rocog patterns.

    EDIT:/ This is still no different to getting hold of images of other CCG cards and printing them out, but you can't use them in a tournement as the human eye can tell the difference.
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/07 @ 12:03

  • Madafunkola #6 4 years ago

    How long til someone (pokemon style) catches them all and provides them free of charge on the web? Or probably will charge for them... Give it 2 weeks i reckon.

  • SEVQA #7 4 years ago

    The thing that pissed me off with this game was, I went to my local GAME seeing it for 60 quid on the websites only to find I was charged 10 pounds more for taking the trouble to walk all way to a shop. I took it back and got a refund! 10 quid is way to much a difference!
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/07 @ 12:05

  • Steroyd #8 4 years ago

    Seconded Pro Evo was £50 everywhere retailers must really not want to sell the PS3 version.

  • Eighthours #9 4 years ago

    The hyperbole about the anti-copying techniques seems laughable now...

    Does Sony ever tell the truth about anything?!

  • brooza #10 4 years ago

    They've since managed to fake the cards using marker pens

  • mattigan #11 4 years ago

    LOL

  • spliffhead #12 4 years ago

    Sod paying £60 you can easily get the US version imported for a reasonable £34.99

  • Foxis #13 4 years ago

    A while back there were rumors that the cards would be unique, ie. include some form of serial number. If true, this wouldn't prevent copying the cards as such, but would ensure that only one copy of a certain card can be registered online.

    I don't actually believe it works this way since it would be (AFAIK) too expensive to print unique cards, and it would require a server to track each and every card. It would solve the piracy issue though.

    Can anyone confirm/debunk this rumor...?

  • Dafridge #14 4 years ago

    Yeah I agree, Kotaku are probably being a bit irresposible here in printing this but then CCG's have always been about deck design so this won't damage online play it just devalues the cards. Even if you have all the cards in the set you can still only have a deck of thirty cards.

  • Kenshin001 #15 4 years ago

    Really can't see the point unless you are an utter cunt and want to spoil a perfectly good game. Plenty of them around I guess. Sp spend the money on the cards and then print them off so someone else can beat you. Good plan. Unfortunate to see EG resorting to leeching off that crap site Kotaku too.

  • onyxbox #16 4 years ago

    "Eye of Judgement cards copied"

    so f'ing what... most people will probably play this against the PS3, another person in the room or someone they know.

    and for people interested in the strategy, printing interesting cards to see how it affects the gameplay could be quite good.

    edit: I also agree with Egster.

    Edited by 1 at 29/10/07 @ 12:41

  • Salvia #17 4 years ago

    "Does Sony ever tell the truth about anything?!"

    So an anti-copying technique has been cracked and that means Sony was lying about it...? Incredible.

  • onyxbox #18 4 years ago

    "So an anti-copying technique has been cracked and that means Sony was lying about it...? Incredible. "

    well said!

    i'm a fan of all the consoles but I must say that I'm getting sick of every thread turning into a dig at Sony.

  • Fitzmogwai #19 4 years ago

    Cracked - using the mighty power of a felt-tip pen.

    I wonder if it works with £50 notes as well?

    Or even £500,000 notes... http://ww w.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/23/...

  • kangarootoo #20 4 years ago

    Oops.


    @Decap

    "Talk about a deal-breaker when everyone has uber-cards. Kinda breaks the whole idea."

    Umm. Surely it only breaks the idea if the idea is to be better at the game by spending more money on cards than your opponent? If everyone has the same cards, it then simply becomes a more varied game of skill. That seems like a much better idea to me (the skill bit, not the piracy).

  • kangarootoo #21 4 years ago

    "Yeah I agree, Kotaku are probably being a bit irresposible here in printing this"

    They are just reporting news. Its not really their call to amke on whether its responsible or not.

    If anything, when it comes to this making the game unfair, the more people that know about such an exploit the better. Then the risk of creating an uneven playing field with a few informed players at the top is reduced (not sure Sony would agree with me on that one mind).

  • kangarootoo #22 4 years ago

    @Eighthours

    Let me add my comment to the pile of those suggesting that for you to accuse Sony of "lying" because someone cracked their copy protection, makes you a mad person.

  • kangarootoo #23 4 years ago

    Reading on through the linked articles, a thought occurs to me.

    Making printed copies from scans of these cards is probably illegal due to printing laws. Making your own versions using pens and a steady hand simply isn't.

  • Steroyd #24 4 years ago

    You couldn't create an ultimate deck anyway, you use mana for every card that's used from my understanding, unless you can trick to think the card is a low mana one but it's really a strong card the cheating aspect is kind of nullified all this means is lost revenue from the booster packs.

    Don't know when I shall pick this up might wait till it goes cheaper...if it goes cheaper.

  • Les #25 4 years ago

    "Making printed copies from scans of these cards is probably illegal due to printing laws. Making your own versions using pens and a steady hand simply isn't."

    Copyright statements in general prohibit the reproduction of intellectual property in what form so ever. At least that's the case for books and I assume other printed items are be governed by similar rules.

  • GingerNathan #26 4 years ago

    Indeed, the only harm this does is to cheat Sony out of revenue for the cards, it certainly doesn't help people cheat at the game because they're not creating anything that's not already available for money.

    It's no different from pirating games, copying your mates CD's, playing console ROM's on a PC's emulator, or downloading a torrent of any media you haven't already bought. The only way any of you can complain about this is if you haven't done any of the above, and I suggest that you'd be in the minority.

  • Les #27 4 years ago

    "You couldn't create an ultimate deck anyway, you use mana for every card that's used from my understanding, unless you can trick to think the card is a low mana one but it's really a strong card the cheating aspect is kind of nullified all this means is lost revenue from the booster packs."

    True. And if I'm not mistaken, for online games the game creates a sort of random deck for you, based on the cards you've registered. I can imagine some deck balancing would come to play in that.

  • zedzee #28 4 years ago

    "Whoops", indeed.

  • kangarootoo #29 4 years ago

    @Les and GingerNathan

    So when, as a kid, I copied out the first book of the Dragon Warriors RPG series by hand, or photocopied an entire Talisman box set, I was being just as evil as the next pirate in line.....

    actually, I knew the photocopying bit was wrong, but I thought the pencil repro of DW was allowed.... but then I was about 9 so what did I know.

  • PiranhaUK #30 4 years ago

    Before I bought this game I imagined I may try printing off cards myself but at the end of the day, Its just easier to spend a small amount of money and buy the damn things....

    Also, what people have said about it not changing the game is true. You could print off a complete deck of really rare cards, but it doesnt make playing it any easier. The rarer cards require lots of Mana to play (6-9) so it doesnt make the game any less balanced.

  • Jos #31 4 years ago

    Aren't people kind of missing the point a bit though?

    This is a video game collectable/trading card hybryd.

    The people who get into this stuff like to collect the cards - that's the point.

    It's like people doing those football stickers books. You could draw in by hand all the players you don't have, or paste in a picture you printed of the internet but you don't.

    'Cos it's the collection that's the thing.

    The video game bit is a bonus in terms of atmosphere, as well as a facilitator of actually playing the game online, which can also be done face to face, where you can see if the cards are rip offs anyway...

  • reality_cheque #32 4 years ago

    If anyone has the same cards, it comes down to building the better deck and being the better player - it's like a meritocracy :D

  • GingerNathan #33 4 years ago

    "If anyone has the same cards, it comes down to building the better deck and being the better player - it's like a meritocracy :D"

    Exactly, these card games with their 'rare' cards are nothing but a money making scam (and yes I'm putting the Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards in there). It's like buying a Chess set and only getting a board, eight Pawns, and a King, and then having to buy dozens of more sets full of Pawns in order to try and find a Queen etc.

  • tonynibbles #34 4 years ago

    Not sure about the update - the example they've used is for that cube character who isn't actaully worth anything.

    Besides this - why would they put the 'special' inks in to the starter deck included with the game? No one gives a toss if you can copy the cards in teh starter pack, they're the default ones. Might even be useful if you lose any.

    If this can be done with the ones in the add on packs - then thats obviously a problem so we need some proof that it can be done with cards not in the starter deck...

  • zuljin #35 4 years ago

    @kangarootoo
    "Reading on through the linked articles, a thought occurs to me.

    Making printed copies from scans of these cards is probably illegal due to printing laws. Making your own versions using pens and a steady hand simply isn't."

    I'm gonna agree with Les on this one and go as far as to say that if I walked into the bank of england with my own printed money (using pens and my slightly unsteady hand only), I'd probably be arrested. :)
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/07 @ 14:20

  • haowan #36 4 years ago

    IIRC this isn't the first time Sony protection has been foiled by the humble marker pen.

  • kangarootoo #37 4 years ago

    @zuljin

    Trying to pass one of your notes as tender is something else though, and would qualify as forgery. As it happens though, making copies of the british money is illegal regardless of the intention behind it.

    Anyway, I hold my hands up to the might of the law, and when the feds turn up I shall be flushing my grubby scribbled notes down the bog and sanding the tell tale extra sides off all my dice (or I would do, if they weren't all lost to history).

  • zuljin #38 4 years ago

    @kangarootoo
    "Trying to pass one of your notes as tender is something else though, and would qualify as forgery."

    True. And I'm certain you'd be allowed to copy the EOJ cards if all you wanted to do was draw them. But if you reproduce them with the intent of passing them off as real, then surely thats forgery too?

  • Halo.Jones #39 4 years ago

    Photocopies, pah. Try using a mobile phone, works just as good :)

  • kangarootoo #40 4 years ago

    @zuljin

    Deopends what you mean by "passing them off as real". If you were passing them off as real to people down your local car boot sale, that would be fraud of some sort.

    But passing them off as real to the game? I'm really not sure you could be prosecuted for that.

    What if it happened by accident, perhaps because EoJ scanned your cat's striped ass or something (and thats not even dealing with the fear that might be caused if your cat ran across the map and the screen showed some kind of stone dragon leaping out of its butt).

  • Eighthours #41 4 years ago

    @Eighthours

    Let me add my comment to the pile of those suggesting that for you to accuse Sony of "lying" because someone cracked their copy protection, makes you a mad person.

    But there clearly was no copy protection. If there was, you couldn't recreate the cards with a standard printer, never mind felt pens! Yet an explanation of the supposed "anti-copying" measures was one of the answers given in an interview with the devs in Edge. Join the dots. How am I mad for pointing out something that's pretty obvious?

    The very first test for any anti-copying system would be to try to circumvent it on a standard printer.
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/07 @ 16:19

  • Fitzmogwai #42 4 years ago

    IMHO copying these cards and using them in-game isn't fraud, it's just cheating.

    OMG EoJ haxors!!11!11!!!

    Of course, interested parties would probably be more than happy to shout "copyright violation", kick down some doors and drag people off into the night, but that's between Sony and their lawyers.

    I doubt, however, that the loss of payment for several £3.99 booster packs is going to make much of dent in the money-sucking void that is the PS3's balance sheet.

  • kangarootoo #43 4 years ago

    @Eighthours

    "How am I mad for pointing out something that's pretty obvious?"

    Its not so much the factual content of the matter, but that the accusation was levelled in the first place.

    Its as if Sony have caused us some harm by suggesting that pirating their merchandise is a bad thing. Maybe there is piracy control, but its just a bit crap?


    @Fitzmogwai

    "IMHO copying these cards and using them in-game isn't fraud, it's just cheating."

    Its not fraud unless you sell copies as originals. But no one is suggesting that.

    I think scanning and printing the cards is almost certainly copyright infringement, but the jury is out (insofar as none of us seem to really know) on whether creating reproductions that are detailed enough to trigger the game is the same thing.

    In any event. its not cheating, unless part of the "game" is to spend money, which it isn't.

    As for the effect of selling booster packs on Sony's cashflow, I'm not quite sure what your point is there.

  • AOFanboi #44 4 years ago

    It's not fraud but could be against the EULA etc. and could see you booted off the service if they found out.

    Anyway, the comany losing out if people don't buy the boosters is Wizards of the Coast, not Sony. How they intended to prevent people from dscanning the cards in a bought deck then reselling the cards to someone else is another matter.

  • Brogan #45 4 years ago

    Who cares, card battle game/gamers sadder than WoW players.

  • Shrui #46 4 years ago

    Thought I knew the answer to this one but then I looked up some web pages and got all confused.

    Interesting thing from my search was a FAQ on the EU community forums:
    "No, this is not possible. The PlayStation Eye will be able to recognise an authentic card from a scan or a copy."

  • light&shadow #47 4 years ago

    The pen is mightier than the sword

    @Moz: Seriously though, special inks can indeed be seen by regular camera sensors and not being visible for the human eye as the camera sensors have a slightly extended spectrum range compared to the human eye. There are companies specialized in these special inks. I've seen one on the net but can't remember the name.

    So my guess is that rare cards might feature invisible ink.
    Edited by 1 at 30/10/07 @ 09:03

  • drxym #48 4 years ago

    I really don't understand this story. OF COURSE THE CARDS CAN BE COPIED. How the hell does anyone expect a camera to be able to tell the difference? The more important part, is can the copied cards be registered online? All of the cards appear to have a 32 bit barcode on them. I would hope and assume that Sony ensure that the rare / ultra-rare cards are all uniquely coded so once registered they can't be reregistered. If someone tries to register a card which is already in the system they can be detected and possibly banned.

  • kangarootoo #49 4 years ago

    @AOFanboi

    Wizards of the Coast? I didn't know thhey were involved. I thought this was a Sony Japan title. At any rate, Sony will get a cut of any licensed product sold so they will lose money if this impacts card sales by any significant degree.

    @drxym

    Are you saying that every single card has a unique code on it? Not just each type of card, but every single card printed (in the same way that every single £5 note has a different serial number)? Thats interesting. It would certainly make banning certain cards a pretty trivial task, which would stop everyone downloading the same scans and printing off identical cards I guess.

  • drxym #50 4 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    This is speculation since I don't know what security measures they employ, but I do know there is a 32 bit code embedded in each card and it does allow for that kind of thing. What I'm suggesting is that code could be used like this:

    * Every rare / ultra rare card gets a unique id
    * Booster cards get their id from a pool. e.g. one card type may take it's id from a pool of 100 ids assignedto that type
    * Starter decks might use the same id for cards of the same type

    32 bits would be more than enough to cover this sort of spread of ids. In case you're wondering why a normal booster card should get its id from a pool, it's so that it's not immediately obvious that it is a normal card if you compare it to another of the same type.

    Ids would allow Sony to easily manage who owns the rare cards because they have to be registered to play online. It's no good copying some other guy's rare cards because they'd already be registered to him. It wouldn't even be possible to guess cards because the ids needn't be sequential either, i.e. two rare cards of the same type do not have to be numbered N and N+1

    Edited by 1 at 31/10/07 @ 21:49