The Future Of Virtual Reality Will Be Driven By Porn
Rule 34 may just be a term coined by the internet forum community, but it can be taken more literal here. Innovation in Virtual Reality will be driven by pornography - not games, not films and not social media. Porn.
Why? Well, if you take a look back, Porn has driven many innovations. It helped VHS destroy Betamax in the late 80s, and more recently helped Blu-Ray rise to prominence over HD-DVD.
A virtual reality sex suit
Porn also drove the development cycle of webcams and the constant improvement of internet bandwidth.
Simply put, audiences always ask one question of new platforms for content consumption - can I have sex with it?
Okay, before you question me with pedantics, I know this isn’t literal - the USB port would be rather painful… But you can see the work on interactivity throughout every platform. From the webcams above, to interactive devices such as the Flesh Light or internet-connected vibrators (yes, they are a thing).
Yes, that's a guy having VR sex with an inflatable body...
And now, with Virtual Reality, people take a look at the rather tame game demos and ask that very same question. With Pornhub amongst many other companies already on board with VR sex, the challenge of innovation has already begun.
So where does this lead to? Robotic sex? Maybe. More and more complex (and quite frankly, terrifying) gadgets are cropping up to rekindle that feeling of intercourse.
But nothing will challenge hardware developers to constantly increase the immersion of their devices more than the mission to recreate sex for paying customers.
The next few years are going to be interesting.
Alongside the scientists, 50% of the British public and the future health of young people across the nation, I have one simple request: delay Freedom Day, please.