VENICE, Calif. – In recent years, few technological developments or new platforms for content delivery have generated as much buzz as the emerging field of virtual reality.
Intuitively, long before VR headsets were available on the market, entrepreneurs, technologists and consumers alike could see the massive potential for VR-based entertainment, be it for videogaming, mainstream film or adult entertainment – or perhaps I should say especially for adult entertainment.
Looking at the growth in traffic and user-engagement for sites like VRPorn.com, it’s easy to see why there’s so much enthusiasm for VR and its potential to reinvigorate the adult industry and become a major revenue-driver.
Daniel Peterson, the Founder and CEO of GenVR Inc, the company which owns and operates VRPorn.com told YNOT the trends reported in the blog post linked to above have “remained fairly consistent so far.”
“Organic traffic to our site has grown steadily since we released our report in October,” Peterson said. “And there was a really nice Christmas bump like last year, with new users up over 50% during the holidays.”
While already impressive in its size and rate of growth, Peterson said what we’ve seen so far from the market for adult VR is just the tip of the iceberg.
“VR is still so young and with such low adoption rates that the popularity of VR porn is almost guaranteed to increase 10-100 times from here,” Peterson said. “The growth we’ve seen over the past year is really just the beginning.”
One of the obstacles to expansion of the adult VR market (and the VR market, in general) is the cost of VR equipment, even though the price of headsets has dropped since they were first introduced. Ease of use is another factor, Petersen said, and another area where there’s room for improvement.
“The cost has come down dramatically in the past couple years, but high-end VR equipment is still expensive and difficult to use,” Peterson noted. “VR will continue to get exponentially better, cheaper, and easier. As it does, VR adoption will continue to increase.”
Peterson also anticipates “better screen resolutions, faster graphics processing, and improved ergonomics that attract the most new users to VR.”
“Long term, we will get to a point where VR looks like a cool pair of sunglasses that is affordable and as easy to use as a smartphone,” Peterson added.
While VR device manufacturers and distributors are unlikely to accept adult apps on their official stores, or openly encourage the development of adult AR apps, Peterson said this doesn’t mean these companies aren’t cognizant of VR porn’s popularity – or perhaps even quietly rooting for it to continue, behind the scenes.
“Some VR companies are more friendly towards porn than others but in general, most manufacturers are happy to see adult VR thrive,” Peterson said. “VR porn is a leading catalyst for new users and money coming into the VR industry. They may not talk about it publicly, but hardware companies are very aware of this.”
Another of the enhancements Peterson foresees in the future of adult VR is greater use of the format’s expansive nature, in the form of content which gives users more ability to explore and interact with the environment and context in which VR porn scenes are set.
While Peterson acknowledged most VR porn currently being published is POV, he said “there’s no reason that the medium needs to be limited to the first-person perspective.”
“VR can do anything that can be done with standard video, plus anything else you can imagine,” Peterson observed. “At the moment, POV is the most popular because it’s easy to produce and it’s effective. But as 3D video recording improves there will certainly be more options for movement.”
As for where adult VR is ultimately headed, Peterson envisions future creations which will rival the imaginative technologies depicted in popular science fiction.
“Interactive CGI simulations are also being developed to further immerse VR porn consumers and give them more freedom,” Peterson said. “VR porn users will be able to explore the virtual environment however they see fit. Where VR is really going is something like a holodeck experience of unlimited sexual fantasies.”
