Porn meets virtual reality, and sparks fly
For Kink.com, San Francisco’s chief outpost of the porn-tech industry and the host of the conference that featured about a dozen other adult video companies, virtual reality may be a lifeline of sorts.
VR could be huge for the industry. Last year, the research firm IBISWorld projected that 2020 revenues for the U.S. porn industry should reach $3.3 billion, which means essentially flat revenue growth. Subscription websites “declined significantly” when free, user-created videos began proliferating, the IBIS report said — though higher-quality VR porn could revive subscription services.
For companies like Kink, which depends on revenue from subscriptions to its trademark bondage and other sexual fetish videos, the hope is that virtual reality becomes the premium experience that gives viewers a reason to pay more.
History is on the side of the porn industry, which has always paved the way for new entertainment technologies, from film to home video tapes to online streaming.
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