Who You Callin’ a Pinhead?
Ever wanted to buy an iconic monster movie villain? A big bad of the big screen, a seller of scares, a propagator of punishment? Maybe, but intellectual property isn’t up for sale here. Instead, you can buy the 3D model of “Pinhead” used in Dead by Daylight, and “own” that. But that’s silly, you can’t truly own a digital thing… or can you?
It’s a long story, so here’s a super-quick rundown. The Hellraiser/Pinhead IP isn’t owned by Behavior, the Dead by Daylight developer. Instead, it’s licensed to them through Boss Team Games, who are themselves owned by Boss Protocol. It’s the latter group that have turned the in-game Dead by Daylight model into an NFT, putting it up for sale and offering people a chance to own a piece of Dead by Daylight’s monster selection.
For those not in the know, an Non-Fungible Token (in very basic terms) is a certificate of ownership for some digital thing. People have a very specific view of “ownership” when it comes to objects, but the internet’s everything just kinda makes those instincts useless. How can you “own” a piece of art if someone can make an exact copy of it at any given second? Through NFTs, you can mark something as originally owned by you – and that NFT can never be stolen or replicated. The technological implications of something like this are interesting, to be sure, but they have yet to find a use that’s reached mainstream popularity.
And… yeah, this use probably isn’t going to change things. People often react negatively to NFTs, calling them dumb purchases at best and scams at worst. This move doesn’t seem capable of changing those minds. Buying the Pinhead model doesn’t give you access to exclusive content, though it could grant you access to the Hellraiser chapter of Dead by Daylight, and according to an FAQ, “certain Pinhead NFTs will unlock access to Hellraiser collectibles and all of them will entitle their owners (on a future date) to additional NFTs (like the Lament Configuration box) at no cost.”
So you might get some added stuff, and more NFTs? But what if you don’t see NFTs as all that valuable? This question is why a move like this gets so much pushback. People just aren’t sold on the idea of “ownership” in a world where copy/paste exists. Perhaps if the purchase offered a little more, people would be more open to it. But as things stand… yeah, it’s not great.