THIS week saw Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot towards the metaverse get off to a rocky start after Meta’s shares plunged more than 20 per cent following unexpected spending on its virtual reality project.

Disney started hiring for NFT experts, Nike filed a lawsuit against StockX for selling Nike-branded NFTs and real estate sales in the metaverse are predicted to hit $1billon this year.

Here’s what happened.

Nintendo sees ‘great potential’ in the metaverse

During a Q&A session after the publication of Nintendo’s latest financial results, the president of Nintendo Shuntaro Furukawa said the metaverse “has great potential.”

However, the video game company is holding off expanding into the metaverse.

Shuntaro Furukawa said the company needs to be sure the medium will provide the “surprise and fun” its players expect.

This comes after PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi called the metaverse “isolating” and VR headsets “annoying”.

First-ever marathon in the metaverse

Virtual sporting company Raramuri is hosting the first-ever marathon in the metaverse, where runners will be able to earn digital rewards for running real-life miles.

The event will take place on June 2 with early sign-ups currently open to the public.

Participants in the race will have the 26.2 miles they run in real life tracked using their mobile phones or watches.

The race data will then correspond to an avatar moving through Raramuri’s virtual course.

Facebook down 20 per cent after Zuckerberg’s ‘metaverse’ lost more than $10billion in 2021

Facebook shares plunged more than 20 per cent after heavy spending on its metaverse project led to a decline in its fourth quarter profit.

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, saw its stock fall by 23 per cent on Wednesday in after-hours trading.

The fourth-quarter earnings report was the first time the company had shared the financial performance of the augmented and virtual reality part of the business.

The AR and VR division reported a net loss of $10.2billion for 2021 as a whole.

Nike sues StockX for selling ‘Nike’ sneaker NFTs

Nike filed a lawsuit against online sneaker reseller StockX at a New York federal court on Thursday February 4.

Nike claim StockX has been selling images of Nike sneakers as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) without authorisation.

Since January, StockX has sold a variety of sneaker-themed NFTs as part of its “Vault” collection.

Nike also says StockX has sold over 500 Nike-branded NFTs since launching its blockchain “Vault” collection on January 18.

Some NFTs sold for triple the value of Nike’s physical trainers.

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger predicts NFT ‘explosion’

Former CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, hinted at the company’s metaverse ambitions and predicted an “explosion” in the NFT space.

Mr Iger said: “We forget, in our generation, that things don’t have to be physical.

“They can be digital, and they have meaning to people. And as long as that meaning can be essentially substantiated in a blockchain, I think you’re going to see an explosion of things being created, traded, collected in NFTs.”

AMC will launch The Walking Dead NFTs via startup Orange Comet

The Walking Dead franchise is returning to the NFT space following their collaboration with The Sandbox.

The Walking Dead’s television network AMC will produce collectibles based on the zombie apocalypse series.

The collection will drop from February 20.

Disney is hiring NFT experts

A total of four jobs on Disney’s careers website mention NFTs.

These positions are: Director, Sales & Digital Marketing, Culture Trend Marketing Manager, Manager, Business Development, and ESPN Business Development & Innovation.

The first of the job openings looks for a candidate that will “help lead Disney’s efforts in the NFT space including monitoring the evolving marketplace, setting category strategy, and managing key partners.”

$1 billion metaverse real estate sales predicted for 2022

Metametric Solutions said real estate sales on four major metaverse platforms – Sandbox, Decentraland, Cryptovoxels, and Somnium – surpassed $501 million in 2021.

The analytics company has projected real estate sales in the metaverse could double this year, reaching nearly $1 billion.

New Balance look set to launch NFTs

New Balance are preparing to launch virtual items tied to its products.

The firm filed three trademark applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which describe “downloadable virtual goods” featuring “footwear, clothing, sports bags, sports equipment, and accessories for use in online worlds.”