VIRTUALSPACE—While porn is traditionally known as an industry that embraces new technologies, an exploration by Gizmodo into the near-term prospects for virtual reality porn concludes that while advances are being made, the return on investment necessary to make VR porn production viable is not there now, and will probably not be there for the foreseeable future.
"Oculus Rift porn, like VR everything else, has been overhyped for years," writes Fruzsina Eordogh for the site. "Extra-overhyped. It's still being overhyped, even as the pornographers dabbling in Rift development are struggling to get the subjects into adequate 3D scans. Even fewer companies have tackled the interactive aspect of simulated sex with teledildonics."
The overhype may be understandable, but it won't make producing the stuff any easier, argues Eordogh. "At this early stage," she adds, "it's very hard to make quality adult content for VR. The porn makers filming live-action have to Macgyver their own VR-compatible equipment, reinvent the standard adult film process, and program new processing software."
Eordogh came to her conclusions after engaging in an exploration of "the stuff that's out there today. I found the pickings slim and mostly terrible (at least to me). But they were also a crude, salacious glimpse into how this technology could eventually blow the sex industry apart."
Some of the "stuff" she considered included VR or 3D content created by VirtualRealPorn, SugarDVD, Veiviev Limited, PG Productions, Utherverse and others, as well as companies working in the teledildonics space.
After all of that, she asks rhetorically, "So when will we finally enjoy our Oculus-powered 3D immersive interactive alternative pornographic reality? I'm sorry to say it's going to be quite a while.
"Creating an avatar you can sex that doesn't look like a cartoon character or plastic doll is just not possible yet," she adds. "The simulations aren't realistic enough. VR porn for anything other than the heterosexual male does not exist, leaving women to roam glitchy sex simulator games if they want to get their VR freak on."
Another issue preventing more investment and production has to do with the fact that immersive virtual reality, such as that provided via the Oculus Rift, has not seen widespread use yet, and may not for some time to come. Consequently, concludes Eordogh, "If it's years until Oculus goes mainstream, it could be even longer for adult entertainment on the Rift to be enjoyable for the average guy, much less the average girl."
The good news, for Eordogh at least, is that the "revolutionary" future of truly erotic VR porn holds no special urgency. Instead, she avers, "I for one am quite happy sticking to the plebeian, passive 2D porn already on the market."
Whether ignorant of or disinterested in the virtual porn future that is surely to come, millions around the globe appear equally content with the plethora of 2D porn currently available, especially if it's free.
Image: Still taken from Oculus Rift-enabled video, Swimming Pool, from virtualrealporn.com.
