MONTREAL – From the early days of the commercial internet, there has been a connection between adult entertainment and video gaming. If you’re old enough, you might even recall a crude flash game called “Cum on Monica” going viral in the late 90s, driven by the then-unfolding story of President Bill Clinton’s tryst with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
In the intervening years, many adult companies have tried to capitalize on the crossover market between adult gamers and adult entertainment fans, a task greatly complicated by a nearly universal porn-aversion among mainstream video game platforms and distributors.
While gaming consoles essentially remain a denied territory to adult game-makers, internet-based PC gaming has proven a lucrative space for Nutaku, the MindGeek-owned adult gaming platform.
With a community of gamers which reportedly numbers 25 million players per month, Nutaku has hitherto been known primarily for its Japanese games, many of which have been translated into English. Now, Nutaku has its eyes on expanding its presence in one of the fastest-growing videogaming markets in the world, while adding breadth to the palette of games and genres it offers at the same time.
According to Forbes, Nutaku recently made a $13 million investment into Latin America, with the funds directed “toward fully financing the development of adult versions of existing games, as well as the development of new adult titles.”
“In a time where less than 1% of apps and 5% of games are financially successful, Nutaku is dedicated to funding games that did not get a chance to succeed through the traditional gaming marketplace, with a goal of democratizing the industry,” a Nutaku spokesperson said. “The new investment portfolio aims to expand the adult gaming industry by working with open-minded developers to produce ‘not safe for work’ versions of their games.”
Nutaku President Mark Antoon said the expansion of the company’s investment portfolio into Latin America is “incredibly exciting,” in part because it presents “the opportunity to empower an entirely underutilized pool of talent.”
“Traditionally, studios and developers within this region face incredible obstacles while trying to bring their gaming titles to market,” Antoon added.
It’s not hard to understand why Nutaku is targeting Latin America as part of the company’s strategy for growth; the region produced an estimated $4.1 billion in gaming revenues in 2016, a 20% increase over the prior year.
As Antoon sees it, Nutaku can ‘do well by doing good,’ so to speak, further establishing itself in a high-performing market while offering new opportunities to Latin American game developers at the same time.
“Nutaku aims to be a catalyst for adult game development as we continue to rapidly grow our presence as the leading adult gaming portal in the western hemisphere,” said Antoon. “Part of that responsibility is ensuring equal and fair access to the market while bringing new talent, perspectives, and diversity that can only benefit our users’ experience.”
As it invests in Latin America, Nutaku is also pursuing opportunities to develop and market adult versions of mainstream games, including a plan to spice-up the vehicular combat/racing game “Road Redemption.”
“We approached (Pixel Dash Studios and EQ Games),” Antoon told PC Gamer. “We funded them to create an adult version of it.”
According to PC Gamer, the game will include “animated comic cutscenes featuring sexual content” which will play between missions. Release of the new adult version of Road Redemption is tentatively slated for early 2018.
