Chaosium Suspends NFT Plans

After widespread backlash across social media, Chaosium has announced that it has suspended its plans for future NFT releases.

All of us at Chaosium are deeply concerned by the issues raised around the VeVe digital collectable releases from last July. We take these concerns very seriously—our fans and the communities built around Chaosium are our lifeblood. We go back a long way, and that means a lot to us. We want to make sure you are comfortable with the way we do business.

While we address the concerns of the tabletop gaming community we have halted our plans for future NFT releases.

Let’s go through what’s happened to date:

• In early 2019 we began discussions with VeVe. At the time NFTs and digital collectables were relatively unknown tech (at least in the TTRPG sphere).
• VeVe is managed by long-time fans and collectors, and we completed multiple rounds of due diligence before deciding to move forward and granting VeVe a license to sell digital collectables based on our IP. It is notable that VeVe’s other NFT licensors include Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, Warner Bros., Star Trek, Star Wars, Cartoon Network, Adventure Time, James Bond, GhostBusters, and many other leading popular culture brands. VeVe even has a license from the United States Postal Service.
• The environmental impact of VeVe's NFTs was crucial in our decision making. VeVe operates on a blockchain platform, (Immutable X), that is carbon neutral. The creation of VeVe NFTs, and their trading takes place “off-chain,” reducing the environmental footprint of VeVe NFTs by 99.9% when compared to those minted on Ethereum.
• Chaosium publicized VeVe’s initial offering (July 2021) across all of our social channels. Our announcements didn’t receive much attention from the gaming press or TTRPG community, but the release was successful and well received, demonstrating an enthusiastic and sizable community of Cthulhu fans on VeVe.
• With our licensee TYPE40, we built an NFT creation model that is protective and respectful of the artists involved—the digital collectables created for VeVe are all entirely new and original. The artists involved share fully in the proceeds of their sale.

However, we understand that a lot has changed since we started down this road in 2019. The issues relating to NFTs are increasingly complex and controversial. In recent months, the debate has become prominent and contentious. Bad actors in this sphere have received widespread coverage. Many people are justifiably baffled, incredulous, and deeply skeptical.

Based on both our research and experience with them, we believe that VeVe is an ethical company, pioneering a new digital community for collectors which uses this distributed ledger technology in a legitimate, meaningful, and environmentally responsible way.

We appreciate that many of our fans are angry and disappointed. We hear you. Your concerns must be listened to and addressed. That is why, in cooperation with TYPE40 and VeVe, we have made the decision outlined above. We do not have another scheduled release on VeVe or any other NFT marketplace. We will never require anyone to own an NFT/digital collectible to enjoy any Chaosium product or game.

Thank you for sharing your feedback. Thank you for patiently waiting for our reply. So much passion for what we do is a good thing. It’s been that way since 1975, and in this digital age we remain The Chaosium.

 

[Malmuria]

. . . . but if they go in with open eyes, purchase a digital Cthulhu statue to display on their augmented reality lawn, and are happy with that purchase . . . . I've got no issues with Chaosium and VeVe providing that service.

From what I've seen the large part of why people are interested in these collectibles are as investments. It's not just they are selling limited edition whatever, and then a secondary market develops; they have their own internal secondary market and people can see how their "portfolio" is gaining value. Do Veve execs really think that the digital spider man comic their users own is worth $50,000? I wonder if the reason they don't let users cash out, is because if they did a lot of these collectibles would drop in value quickly. So from that perspective it seems like a pump and dump scheme.

 

[darjr]

What?!?

 

[J.Quondam]

What?!?

Weird. Sounds like someone might have got into NFTs without actually understanding what they were getting into?
Almost like a... like a.. oh, the word eludes me! But I think it rhymes with "spam."

 

[Malmuria]

What?!?

This is why it's predatory. I don't believe that Veve doesn't know there are people who will invest hundreds to thousands of dollars in these "rare collectibles" that they know are worthless.

 

[Malmuria]

Part of what they are taking advantage of is this OCD will-to-collect. If there is something marketed as rare and worthy of collecting there will be people paying any amount of money to collect it. We see the mild version of this even in wotc's dnd books. Some people need to have them all, and/or have all the alt-covers, and maybe the self-justification is that books with these covers will (and do) appreciate in value.

I don't collect wotc books, but I do feel this way a bit with kickstarter offerings. There is fomo, in the sense that if you miss out on the kickstarter sometimes you really are missing out on getting a physical version of a product. Personally, I don't value digital products in the same way, but I can see people wanting to just get in on the action. I do know that I have a relatively modest shelf of gaming products, and yet more content than I'll probably ever get to play with any depth.

 

[Umbran]

Do you need NFTs to do something like this? No. Were the terms of what you would be purchasing laid out clearly? Yes. If VeVe goes belly-up, would I lose all of my NFT art pieces purchased through them? Probably.

I'm not trying to defend the Call of Cthulhu NFTs as a good deal! But a scam? No. In my mind, that requires deceit and misdirection from Chaosium and/or VeVe . . . which I'm not seeing here.

So, ask yourself a question: If you do not need NFTs, which don't actually even manage most of the effort of displaying digital art, when this platform is known to be more expensive in the long run, why use them for this? What, exactly, is the point of making this an NFT product?

 

[Dire Bare]

So, ask yourself a question: If you do not need NFTs, which don't actually even manage most of the effort of displaying digital art, when this platform is known to be more expensive in the long run, why use them for this? What, exactly, is the point of making this an NFT product?

Which speaks to it being a crappy product. Not a scam.

 

[Umbran]

Which speaks to it being a crappy product. Not a scam.

I note you didn't answer the question. You dodged around it.

Please, I ask again - why would they choose that platform if it is crappy?

 

[Dire Bare]

I note you didn't answer the question. You dodged around it.

Please, I ask again - why would they choose that platform if it is crappy?

I didn't dodge the question. I don't care.

The platform is crappy. The product is crappy. Okay. Doesn't make it a scam. Makes it a bad idea.

Hell, I'm beginning to think I'm operating on a different definition of "scam" then a lot of folks here.

Why would they choose that platform? Because they like the art? Because they want to be on the "cutting edge" and think NFTs are nifty? They are impulsive? They are Call of Cthulhu completists? These VeVe products have no appeal for me, but they do for others. As long as no one's being, well, scammed, I don't care why they would choose a VeVe NFT product.

 

[Malmuria]

I didn't dodge the question. I don't care.

The platform is crappy. The product is crappy. Okay. Doesn't make it a scam. Makes it a bad idea.

Hell, I'm beginning to think I'm operating on a different definition of "scam" then a lot of folks here.

Why would they choose that platform? Because they like the art? Because they want to be on the "cutting edge" and think NFTs are nifty? They are impulsive? They are Call of Cthulhu completists? These VeVe products have no appeal for me, but they do for others. As long as no one's being, well, scammed, I don't care why they would choose a VeVe NFT product.

Pump-and-Dump: Definition, How the Scheme is Illegal, and Types

Pump-and-dump is a manipulative scheme to boost the price of a security through fake recommendations based on false, misleading, or exaggerated statements.

www.investopedia.com

Again, I would ask you: do you think Veve actually thinks its products are $50k investments? Or does it promote that idea knowing that collectors and nft enthusiasts will spend their money in fake commodities?