As we slowly head towards the matured smartphone era, we are quickly finding ourselves at the onset of another. I am talking about, of course, the impending VR and AR revolution. While AR is still a few years away from becoming a mainstream consumer technology, VR innovation is already in full swing. However, like we outlined before, VR adoption has not really been as enthusiastic as the industry might have initially hoped. This is a seminal moment for VR, and the next few years will decide whether VR is here to stay or just an ephemeral chapter in the tech industry.
Curiously, we may find that the deciding factor in VRs long-term health may come from a very unexpected source – Porn.
The Porn Industry Embraces VR
Like it has done on numerous occasions in the past, porn may be the deciding factor in VRs future success. The latest data from Pornhub Insights shows us that the porn industry has adopted VR with gusto, and so have their viewers. Since an initial launch in spring 2016 with a tiny video library of just 30, Pornhub’s VR section has grown by leaps and bounds. As of May 2017, Pornhub now hosts over 2600 VR videos with over 500,000 views per day. Amazing, isn’t it? What’s more interesting is that VR visitors also watch 2 more videos on average compared to regular porn content consumers. This is likely because users want to explore the unique visual experience that VR provides more thoroughly.
It is clear that VR industry has put its hat in the ring when it comes to VR. This comes as a tremendous boost to VR technology, which has been struggling to gain traction thus far.
Why Is The Porn Industry Crucial To VR’s Success?
The porn industry has always been somewhat ahead of the curve when it comes to video technology. Video porn has existed nearly as long as motion films themselves! The first motion picture cameras were invented in the 1890’s, and this was quickly followed by the creation of the first erotic film in 1896. Ever since then, the porn industry has dictated the success of various upcoming technologies:-
- Standardisation Of The Super 8 Format – The exploding popularity of Harrison Mark’s “glamour home movies” led to an upsurge in 8 mm cameras and projectors. Eventually, this led to the adoption of this format as an industry standard.
- VHS vs Betamax – In the 1970’s VHS and Betamax with each other to become the standard. The deciding factor came when Sony decided top disallow porn content on their Betamax tapes. This was a very poor decision in retrospect, as erotic films accounted for over 50% of all videotape sales in the US by the 1970’s. This eventually led to the death of Betamax, despite it allowing better quality recordings.
- Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD – History repeated itself when the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD formats went to war with each other. Once again, the result of this war was decided by the porn industry when the decided to ditch HD-DVD in favour of Blu-Ray in 2008.
- E-Commerce and Credit Cards – Perhaps the porn industry’s greatest contribution. The porn industry helped pioneer and popularise electronic payment methods and real time credit card verification. These methods are now ubiquitous and used all over the world for transactions of all sizes.
- Higher Bandwidth – Porn dominates the flow of images and videos on the internet. The demand for a variety of pornographic products of better quality provided the impetus for bandwidth growth.
Porn has carried over its legacy of propagating cutting edge tech to the present too. Diaper maker Huggies came out with a “pregnancy belt” product which allowed the father to feel his unborn baby’s kicking in the mother’s womb. This was only possible due to advancements in haptic technologies perpetuated by the porn industry.
Porn Is Driving Innovation In VR
The porn industry is firmly invested in VR. It is now driving innovation in immersive technologies not only limited to VR but also AR and teledildonics. The idea is to immerse the viewer in the content as a protagonist, not just an observer. A prime example of this is Pornhub’s TwerkingButt, which features advanced VR technologies and accurate simulations of human skin. On the VR video front, porn VR content already features 360-degree viewing spectrum, 60 fps video and fully interactive experiences.
Inventions such as the VR mask also add an olfactory component to VR content. It is just another part of the porn industry’s effort to excite all the senses by pushing tech innovation.
It is apparent that the porn industry is a step ahead of other content makers in the VR industry. However, other industries stand to benefit equally from innovations driven by the porn industry. The same technologies can benefit entertainment, video game, medical industries and much more. The innovation in VR porn will move the industry and technology forward as a whole.
Takeaways
- VR porn’s popularity is on the rise. Considering porn’s popularity on mobile platforms, targeting mobile VR platforms (such as Samsung’s Gear VR) could be potentially very lucrative for content producers.
- The porn industry is often the deciding factor in the video technology industry. As such the commitment of the porn industry to VR bodes well for its future. We may well experience exploded VR adoption in the near future driven by pornography.
- Not only can pornography help popularise VR, it is also driving innovation in the field. Porn’s forays into haptic and olfactory technologies may give rise to new interactive experiences like never before.
