But why do I need the NFT if it's just a jpg and I can copy it from the game source?
A jpeg is bit for bit identical when copied.
For the longest time, in order to enjoy something, you had to own it. Because physically, there was no way to enjoy it unless you were in its physical presence.
Then we had analog tech like photography, and for a little while, people wrestled with who owned what. But we decided that the original physical painting is proof of ownership, and a photograph of it can still be enjoyed, but is worth less, and not actually owned. This makes sense, because the physical copy is less easy to reproduce.
And now, we've figured out how to make digital things scarce. Now, the ownership of something is indicated by ownership of the NFT, not of the physical original work of something. The tie between the NFT and the digital image is largely a social contract, in the same way that money is a social contract.
https://superrare.co/artwork-v2/bloodsculpt-20261
https://kemendo.com/Images/bloodsculpt.jpg
Which one is the real one?
The first link is on superrare. The superrare image can also be enjoyed by anyone. However, the (very small) link (https://etherscan.io/tx/0xd9e4971bef6d37807605e0eb635eb4b6d9...) to the transaction on the page, tells me the owner of the art piece is 0x053e84e80cfb38d672d53394de3dade1fbbacd25.
The second link is on your own homepage. You can claim ownership on the image (since it's on your homepage), which gives you the enjoyment of the piece. But you don't claim ownership of the art piece.
Now, who determines which one is the real one? Depends on the counter-party you're transacting with, and what they're willing to honor.
If I as the counter-party, am being sold ownership of the art piece from both you and 0x053e84e, I'd take it from 0x053e84e, for the same reason you tried to make: digital images are exact copies. He own the non-duplicable NFT and provably so, and can transfer that NFT to me.
If I as the counter-party is the creator of the piece, I can give certificate owners extra VIP features for the art piece, like a chance to meet me, or a one time delivery of a look-book of the making-of of the piece, I can do that, and be sure that it's not fake owners. The pleasure of ownership is different than the pleasure of enjoyment of the piece.
So what links the NFT (the certificate) to that particular image? Well, right now, it's conferred by Superrare. If this is turns out to be an issue, I can see ways around it.
One option is to use procedurally generated art, where the parameters are stored in the NFT. I think there may be others.
In some respects, blockchain currencies make the most sense precisely because they aren’t bound to some fictionally scarce “physical analogue” to remind you that it’s just a number. The currency says “the number has value, that is the one axiom you must believe”. An NFT muddies this by saying “the number has value BECAUSE it is tied to this unique thing that actually isn’t unique.”
Edit: One added point: if the scarcity is “real” due to some outside constraint (a card that can be used in a game, and thus it’s not yet copyable asset that people are buying but the unique ability to use it), then the above does not apply and NFTs seem like a fine way to standardize a cheating proof way of handling this.
I completed agreed to the point you were making and then I got reminded of sneakers. They are supposed to be of high utility and yet 'limited edition sneakers' command a high price and are never used (in fact they lose value on being used).
I think other threads in the discussion point out the difference between the price people pay for 'owning' an artefact versus 'enjoying' an artefact. In the music case also, I can totally imagine a successful artist taking out limited NFTs on their music and their super fans buying it, trading it amongst themselves. Most people who want to 'enjoy' it won't care but I guess a case can be made for die-hard fans wanting to own it.
The utility of the enjoyment of my art is for regular fans. The utility of the ownership of my art is for super fans. And the value of superfans to me as a creator is to build long life-time value of customers, ready audience for my future work, an effective cheap distribution channel.
If I as a superfan has a creator that honors these NFTs, then I too will care about the scarcity--not of the digital artifact that lets me enjoy the work (the image), but of the digital artifact that lets me participate as a superfan (the NFT).
That being said, it will be interesting to see how creators react to these tokens being resold (which is an essential aspect of this). That is to say, in the model you are describing you are taking on a long term relationship in order to demonstrate the scarcity, which is different than a one-time sale of unique piece of art. You will thus take on the problem of scalpers and the realization that many of the superfans you are serving got access to your future rewards through paying a third party much more than you got for the initial sale of the token — which is of course nothing new, this happens with art resale too, it’s just less repeatedly in your face as you provide these benefits over time.