Can virtual reality threaten the brothel industry?
Electronics have treated Sheri’s Ranch well. The cathouse in Pahrump, which claims to be the “unofficial brothel of CES,” reports a 70 percent increase in business when tech employees roll into Las Vegas for the massive trade show each January.
But that cozy relationship might not last. Some in the brothel industry — Sheri’s included — have expressed concerns that virtual-reality porn, which offers an immersive 3D experience, could pose a threat to business. On its blog in December, Sheri’s Ranch wrote that the VR devices displayed at CES “may be one of the biggest challenges to the future of the legal prostitution industry.”
The goal is to make the viewer feel like a participant rather than a passive observer, said Brian Shuster, CEO of a VR-porn production company that recently shot in Las Vegas. It’s not at that stage today but will be in about five years, he said. And it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a participant could virtually enter a brothel setting using a headset.
“We see it as an asset, a way to grow our business,” said Richard Hunter, a spokesman for Hof, who has appeared in the HBO series “Cathouse” and is running for a seat in the Legislature. “As the technology progresses, I think a lot of it will depend on what its (potential) and what its limitations are.”
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