The idea of virtual reality has existed for over 50 years, but as technology begins to develop exponentially the strides towards mainstream immersion are becoming larger and quicker. The porn industry in particular is rejoicing at the prospect of offering their customers the ultimate fantasy experience as VR gear like Oculus Rift takes off. Depending on how closely your boss looks over your shoulder, this may be NSFW.
HISTORY
It was a young electrical engineer named Douglas Engelbart who was thinking ahead of his time and laid the groundwork for the emergence of virtual reality technology. It was the 1950’s and Engelbart saw a computers potential for digital display when they were still just giant calculators. Pretty soon, but not before his thoughts were dismissed in ignorance, others joined him and the train was rolling. A major step forward came post World War II with both the military and industrial airline pumping millions of dollars into the advent of flight simulators, which was a safer and cheaper way to train pilots. This practice prompted even greater leaps forwards with graphics and visual feedback, which was needed to properly emulate a flight experience. The 1980’s brought with them the development of high-performance computers. The propulsion of video graphics into the entertainment sectors was a natural progression, thus special effects were born. The landscape of gaming and filmmaking was changed dramatically and permanently. The mainstream audience was introduced to VR in 1992 when Pierce Brosnan starred in The Lawnmower Man but The Matrix took things to a whole new level, completely embedding itself into pop culture.
Since then we’ve all seen the thresholds that technology has been able to break through, with many seemingly impossible ideas coming to fruition. With Facebook’s Oculus Rift headset Virtual Reality is one of those ideas, and it’s knocking on our door. Pornographers, in their lust, are hurrying to turn the knob and make every dream of the flesh come true for consumers. The following article could become a wee bit sordid for some.
VIRTUAL REALITY AND PORNOGRAPHY
The marriage of Virtual Reality and pornography is not surprising really, for it’s a match made in heaven. Both offer escapism for consumers, just as drugs, alcohol, and art do. VR promises to allow a user to go anywhere, do anything, while porn plays out an individuals fantasies and desires. Combining the two makes for a sensual overload. It’s an organic experience despite the amount of technology being utilised, everything is happening within the mind to trick the body into thinking the sensations are real. An awe-inspiring and lifelike device developed by Palmer Luckey, the Oculus Rift, has been purchased by Facebook (for what will be probably be a steal at $2 billion) and has paved the way for VR to enter the open market. The main players in the porn industry can hardly contain their arousal at the opportunities it presents for their businesses.
VP of engineering at Facebook Cory Ondrejka says of Oculus Rift:
“My first experience was this amazing sense of presence. It was able to cross that threshold into presence where your brain is saying “Well, this is real,” and that difference is fundamentally the difference between VR that’s a promise and VR that’s actually here.”
Pornography has always had it’s finger on the pulse when it comes to new technology. You wouldn’t believe the range of sex toys available these days! With Oculus Rift set to hit shelves early next year, porn companies see a real opportunity to offer something everyone will want to pay for, rather than watching low quality porn for free. This is content that can’t be pirated or ripped-off. Linda Wells of VirtualRealPorn, based in Spain, expects the technology to be mainstream by 2017 and said the experience was like nothing else, “You find yourself in a different place and situation in company of beautiful models looking at you and interacting with you.”
Another major player is Naughty America, who have released their first VR scene, ‘2 Chicks Same Time’, starring Jaclyn Taylor and Nikki Benz. According to a statement the production will “elevate the user to a new height — a more sensitized, sexual plane.” The two actresses even spent time at Comic-Con International demonstrating the new technology.
First time-users find the experience mind-boggling. Check out the reactions of people testing Oculus by watching XXX point-of-view scenes.
Porn fans will be delighted to hear Oculus CEO Palmer Luckey tell Virtual Reality Reporter there will be no move to block VR porn.
“The rift is an open platform. We don’t control what software can run on it, and that’s a big deal.”
It comes as no shock that VR porn is tremendously more expensive than regular porn but Naughty America founder Andreas Hronopoulos believes it is worth it, quoted by news.com.au he states:
“You get to decide where you want to look. It’s really wild. If you have a fantasy and you want it to be a reality, this is as real as it’s going to get.”
The VR porn industry is estimated to be a $1.4 billion business in the US alone by 2025. Even Australia, who have a bare bones porn industry in comparison is keen to get in on the act. Producer Romeo Dymondz hopes to release scenes in the coming months but it will ultimately be a slower process for aussies because they don’t posses the same funds as big American or European companies. At this early stage it’s a complicated process for filmmakers, who have to reinvent a lot of their gear and program new processing software. Linda Wells of VirtualRealPorn has managed to fill their library with 25 immersive films but still admitted they’re time consuming telling gizmodo “Traditional adult filming rules aren’t valid for VR.”
“There isn’t equipment on the market to shoot for VR with good quality and we had to do much research to create custom cameras and rigs. The custom equipment is followed by a very custom workflow in post-production since the market lacks any good and complete software to do these processes.”
However, proponents are already envisioning a world where pleasure bars for VR porn exist, hubs that people can rent per hour.
CONCERNS
Does all this sound too good to be true? Surely VR porn isn’t the greatest thing since the sandwich. Well, there a few viable worries about the technology and the affect it could have on one’s mental state. “People thought that there would be addictions to VR — that people would end up living in virtual worlds and never coming out.” Said Ben Delaney, an avid writer on the subject. Which is easy to imagine, when inside these worlds is everything you’ve ever wanted, including sexual gratification. So what does it mean for relationships? Some experts this type of technology will greatly increase the risk of individuals becoming addicted and isolated from their partners. Why make the effort with your partner when the girl in the VR world can fulfil every sexual need, and feels as real as the sun on your face or the wind in your hair? Sex therapist Nikki Goldstein believes VR could toe very close to the line of infidelity.
“There’s a fine line between having fun and taking away from the intimacy with your partner.”
On the other side of the coin is the idea that couples can fulfil their desires together if they both have a penchant for a certain experience. Perhaps the biggest roadblock for some will be the price. Oculus Rift is currently rated at $1500 American dollars and some might fight fire with fire by saying why pay money to have virtual sex when you can have real sex with your partner.
The ultimate purpose though will be for VR porn to fulfil those fantasies that are impossible to access in the real world. Humans have cavernous imaginations and can develop outlandish desires. VR can cater for anything and everything. That’s what makes it so ground-breaking and so exciting.
Learn more here about Naughty America’s VR porn videos, and other cool VR news.
OTHER APPLICATIONS
Don’t be fooled into thinking the porn industry are the only ones interested in VR. It’s application potential is almost limitless. It has already been introduced into gaming, be it killing zombies, driving cars, or fighting criminals. There’s also room for VR to transfer into everyday activities like shopping which advertisers and marketers are beginning to investigate. There are other opportunities that are just as tantalising including:
- Restauranting – Ever wanted to eat and drink whatever you wanted without health consequences? VR is here.
- Film – Ever wanted to be in a movie alongside Tom Cruise? VR is here.
- Extreme Sports – Ever wanted to jump off a cliff or climb Everest but been too scared? VR is here.
- Art – Ever looked at a painting and wished you could explore the scene? VR is here.
- Music – Ever wanted to be a rock star but didn’t have the talent? VR is here.
It could even be applied to psychiatry, with virtual therapy experiences. Meditation and relaxation are big ones too. The user could enter a world completely free from distractions. In fact there is a market ready and waiting on this frontier. That of ASMR. Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response is an intense pleasurable relaxed state that is brought upon by various sounds and images. Despite being niche there is a worldwide community dedicated to the phenomenon, with hundreds of YouTube ASMRtists and millions of subscribers. The videos may be role plays, lectures, demonstrations, inaudible whispering, and anything in between but they are all designed to put the watcher into a trancelike state of complete relaxation. The next step for this market is the complete immersion that VR can offer. See an example below.
The developments will be endless. It’s clear that VR is going to revolutionise the way that society interacts with consumer products and each other. One can only imagine how much further we can go. It certainly will be exciting to see how the future materialises.
Would you be willing to buy Oculus Rift or any other VR gear, if not for porn but other experiences?