VR Adult Industry: A Key Driving Force Taking VR to the Mainstream
2016 was named the year of virtual reality, however, the explosion didn’t really happen, 2016 was not the year of VR. Nevertheless, the VR industry is more vibrant than ever! More new VR technology advancement has been introduced, new VR content programs have launched in 2017, however, that defining moment or turning point has yet to arrive.
Facebook recently closed down its Oculus Story Studio and is likely to source their VR content from different studios, Google just acquired VR studio Owlchemy Lab this month, the studio that created award winning VR game Job Simulator. Tech giants seem to be shifting their strategies by outsourcing and acquiring 3rd party VR content and studios, as oppose to invest and create their own VR content. However, things are different for the porn industry, according to Pornhub’s virtual reality insight report, VR adult porn and the virtual adult industry are thriving!
Pornhub Insight Report shows a huge VR porn video view spike during Christmas 2016! ( Source: Pornhub )
Around the same period, VR porn related keyword search also shows a tremendous increase! ( Source: Google Trend )
Since Pornhub launched its VR porn category in the first quarter of 2016, the site stats grew exponentially from 30 videos and a couple thousands views per day to more than 2,600 videos and more than 500,000 views per day in May, 2017. As you can see from the graphic chart below, during Christmas 2016, VR porn and related keyword search sky rocked, mainly due to people receiving VR heads as their Christmas present, and immediately head to the web and searched for VR porn to watch!
According to PornHub, visitors who visited the site for VR porn content views averaging 11 videos per visit, that is two more than regular visitors searching for 2D porn content. Male visitors are 160% more likely to watch VR porn than women. So apparently, the interest for VR adult content in growing, and the main target demographics are men! And the interest for VR adult content is the highest in the state of California!
“Here at Pornhub we are all about penetration…into new verticals, through the past year alone we’ve diversified our brand, particularly within the technology ecosystem, behind the roll-out of a brand new, free VR category and developing cutting-edge technologies including rolling out HTTPS, TwerkingButt, and so on.” Corey Price, VP of Pornhub ( source: Forbes )
“As more and more people start utilizing headsets, and with teledildonics becoming more prevalent, they [the viewer] will begin to develop a need to get as close as possible to the content they are viewing, not strictly viewing it from afar on a laptop, and I think that’s where a lot of companies are looking to capitalize. They’re going to find ways to excite all the senses in the most immersive environment. I mean, after all, who doesn’t want to be as close to the action as possible?”Corey Price, VP of Pornhub ( source: Forbes )
Besides headset makers and large VR content studios, VR adult industry is likely to be one of few segmentations in VR ecosystem that is monetizing well at such early stage. VR porn producers are optimistic about the new medium, many have expressed their visions and optimism regard the future of VR adult content, that this is only the tip of the iceberg of what’s about to happen in the industry when the VR explosion comes. Check out a list of interviews we have conducted with numbers of VR porn studios.
The stats shows that viewers from several Asian countries are among the most enthusiastic demographics when it comes to Pornhub’s virtual reality content!
One of the key figure in the industry that is currently leading the way is Anna Lee, a adult entertainment industry veteran who has founded award winning VR adult studio HoloFilm Productions. According to Anna:
“What we are witnessing at the moment is just the very beginnings of what will be,” Lee tells me via email. She sees a more interactive future for VR Porn, one that takes the viewers responses into account. “Not too far in the future you will begin to see the integration of AR and VR together eventually leading to having your favorite performer on your lap, in your bedroom doing a custom performance for you and responding to your verbal and physical cues.”
VR adult industry is not only adapting to the newest VR technology and exploring better 360 video storytelling, recording and editing techniques, attracting more and more content and hardware developers, producers, studios to experiment with the medium and immersive technology, most importantly, it is also introducing VR content to mainstream audiences and consumers.
Along with VR games and apps, VR porn will be one of the key driving forces taking virtual reality to the mainstream.
