First 360° view adult-VR channel released for mobile: Good-guy producers offer content for free
Friday nights alone at home have never been this hot
There’s no secret that the porn industry has always been one of the quickest technological early-adapters in the market. Porn producers single-handedly paved the way for the VHS standard(for clueless young minds that think DVDs are old-school, just google it) to be normalized over Betamax. They were one of the first commercial content providers to expand into the internet. Their transition into mobile was faster than virtually all e-commerce applications that we now take as a given.
Perhaps the speed at which adult-content lurks its way into new platforms is telling of human nature, our ever-growing need to find fresh new ways to tickle our wildest and wettest fantasies. However vicarious they may be (silent tear drop). Now, the porn industry has set its eyes on the next big thing, virtual reality. We can enjoy a luxurious lifestyle from the comforts of our very own living room couch. Start the day frolicking through the Louvre museum's vast collection, enjoy afternoon shopping at New York's posh 5th Avenue and end the day as world-famous erotic divas/hunks take their turns rubbing you down. Wait, WHAT??!!
A small step for VR, a giant leap for the rest of us/Image: AsiaEconomics
Pornhub(no secrets what they do), the internet’s 64th most visited site, has collaborated with online adult entertainment producers BaDoinkVR(I guess subtleties aren’t a virtue in this business) to launch a virtual reality channel that allows users to enjoy the finest 360-degree view performances of the most dashing and daring divas with daddy-issues you will ever find in the world wide web. Did I mention this platform is available absolutely free? Give yourself a silent high-five.
The channel offers users mobile-accessible 360°-VR-porn(admittedly, the most glorious set of words I’ve ever written on this site thus far) on any popular virtual reality headsets like Oculus Rift. According to Gizmodo, the only available videos at the moment are “heteronormative” from a male user’s perspective and though they are all definitely laudable content, “at worst, the perspective seemed a little skewed, such that at times, the female actress looked like a giant.” I fail to see how that’s supposed to be a bad thing.
How people first react to VR porn/Video: YouTube
Overall, VR porn seems to be a lot more engaging and real than how most critics initially expected it to turn out. But as you can tell from the video above, VR-porn may still be a bit NSFW in public spaces as it seems pretty bizarre at first, then downright obvious how users are using their expensive next-gen devices. I do hope however, that to quell the anger of an increasing number of female viewership, Pornhub play their role in sexual equality by addressing the untapped VR market of female-dominated content.
Pornhub, with 3 million videos, 60 million visitors a day and largest active membership in the adult community with 4 million die-HARD members, is one of the largest distribution channels in the world. BaDoinkVR CEO Todd Glider said in an interview with Fortune that “the addition of a VR category, and BaDoinkVR’s award-winning content, will trigger increased consumer uptake and inspire more companies in the space to begin offering virtual reality content.” He added, “It’s a move that lifts all boats.” "Lifts" seems to be a very strategic choice of wording indeed.
A typical Friday night with Pornhub/Image: Cnet
Pornhub’s Corey Price added that since porn is already mainstream, the emerging medium of VR will benefit from this strategic partnership as millions of “heatedly” excited consumers will be streamlined into a nascent technology. As their virtual reality services are optimized for both Android and iOS mobile devices and playable through most VR headsets like Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Cardboard, “if we can get past the giggling, Pornhub’s entry into this new space may, in fact, provide valuable insight on what a sustainable publishing strategy in VR could look like,” said SuperData Research CEO Joost Van Dreunen. Good-guy Pornhub decided that to boost the launch, it will give away 10,000 Google Cardboard prototypes. It’s corporate responsibility at its finest.
According to Piper Jaffray analyst Travist Jakel, adult VR content is forecasted to be a $1billion business by 2025, the third biggest sector behind videogames and NFL-related content. With the porn industry shifting based on big data of changing millennial habits, it feels SO RIGHT that adult content has taken the bold step away from sketchy resolutions and censored torrents towards the more expressive and engaging medium of VR. It’s going from locked doors and your mother’s computer to smart-tech deliberation. So anchors away Junior, and let the world “COME” at you.
