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WEST HOLLYWOOD >> The adult entertainment industry is built on fantasy. Now it’s welcoming a dose of reality — of the virtual kind.
Industry leaders who gathered this week at the five-day XBIZ 2017 conference at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood declared themselves bullish on the economic potential of virtual reality.
“I firmly believe virtual reality is the next big thing for the adult entertainment industry — and it will make obsolete traditional recorded two-dimensional porn,” said Alec Helmy, founder of XBIZ, an annual porn trade expo. “It’s going to be a really amazing thing.”
Helmy moderated a “state of the industry” panel at XBIZ, where representatives from major players in adult entertainment addressed the opportunities presented by virtual reality and obstacles to its growth.
“VR is not just a cool little buzzword anymore. It’s definitely here,” stated Joey Gabra, managing director of Affil4You.com, a company that specializes in monetizing mobile content. But he added, “The market’s really, really tiny still.”
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Growth in the VR segment of the porn business could be a boost to the economy of Southern California, which remains home to the lion’s share of the multi-billion dollar adult entertainment industry, according to Mike Stabile, communications director for the Free Speech Coalition, an industry trade group.
“The current revenue being generated from VR isn’t huge. But across the industry, people are looking at it as something that really is going to develop into the dominant medium for adult entertainment,” Stabile said.
But there are technological hurdles that have kept some consumers from adopting VR.
“The headset is uncomfortable so you really can’t put on a headset and spend hours watching porn,” noted Brian Shuster, CEO of Utherverse, which creates online virtual environments. “Hopefully we’re going to be able to push the headset manufacturers to be able to produce lighter, easier, more durable headsets.”
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The XBIZ conference attracted manufacturers who say they are ready to solve problems with currently available VR equipment.
“We are working hard to develop new headsets,” promised Jean-Claude Artonne, CEO of Terpon, which creates VR camera technology for the adult industry. He said Terpon is also about to release a new line of 3D VR cameras that, according to the company’s website, will push “the boundaries of immersive live webcam streaming.”
Artonne believes the immersive quality of VR is what makes it the wave of the future in porn.
“What you want is to interact (with a webcam performer) and when you talk about interaction, virtual reality is really the next step because it’s really a way for you to feel you are with the person,” he explained.
His display at XBIZ featured an exotic dancer who writhed behind a sheer white curtain. Viewers who tested out a VR headset got the feeling that the dancer was right in front of them, performing for their pleasure.
According to Artonne, live experiences in VR are just the start.
“Immersive enjoyment is not just about vision. It’s about hearing, it’s about touching, it’s about feeling,” he said. “There is an endless possibility of hardware that can be designed.”
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