Naughty America was tucked away in the back of the cavernous South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center at CES 2017, the big tech trade show last week in Las Vegas. There were no signs or images to advertise the near-secret meeting room. But people found the only porn company at the show anyway.
Remember in Jurassic Park when the scientist is talking about how evolution gets living creatures around all obstacles and notes that “Life finds a way”? Well, porn finds a way. The Consumer Technology Association let Naughty America into CES, after kicking all porn out 16 years ago. That tells you something about the on-off relationship between mainstream technology and the porn content that it inevitably delivers to the masses.
“We’re showcasing the latest in adult VR content across many different devices, from the Samsung Gear VR to the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive,” said Ian Paul, chief information officer at Naughty America.
Naughty America showed VR porn on a few different platforms. There was a safe-for-work poster board inside the room, and then the company showed a compilation 360-degree video of “not safe for work” VR content.
AI Weekly
The must-read newsletter for AI and Big Data industry written by Khari Johnson, Kyle Wiggers, and Seth Colaner.
Included with VentureBeat Insider and VentureBeat VIP memberships.
Naughty America has more than 100 VR porn videos posted already.
There were a lot of restrictions for the exhibit. Naughty America couldn’t put up any signs. It could only have one door open. It was approved very late, and the company was placed in one of the hardest places to find at the show. It’s worth noting that CES does allow other naughty vendors into the show, such as OhMiBod, one of the many sex toy makers.
But the makers of porn films sort of spoiled their opportunity to be in the tech show after creating huge lines for porn films at booths in the early days of CD-ROMs. Porn split off into its own show, AVN, that was co-located at CES for many years. But in 2012, AVN changed its dates, as the show had grown large enough to compete with CES for exhibit space.
A spokeswoman for CES said in an email, “CES does not currently have an adult entertainment category. Naughty America qualifies to exhibit at CES in a meeting room as a VR company. It’s a trial run year with this exhibitor as the porn industry is a legitimate industry that drives content.”
While porn is definitely more mainstream than it used to be, it isn’t always welcome at mainstream business events. Even so, Naughty America also made an appearance at E3, the big video game show in Los Angeles. That show helped the company define some rules for exhibiting.
“It’s odd to me that they have such rules for adult content, but violent content doesn’t have the same rules,” Paul said.
Was there much technology to talk about? Paul had some observations. The company supports many different platforms, and it has generic file formats that often work on unsupported platforms. Sony’s PlayStation VR can play porn. But Sony’s video player doesn’t support stereoscopic 3D. So it looks like you are watching a VR film as flat 2D content.
“We’ll see if they push out an update,” Paul said. “It’s a little disappointing. Maybe they were rushing it out and didn’t test enough third-party content on it.”
As a result, PSVR porn content isn’t getting much usage. The Samsung Gear VR is getting a lot of use, as is generic Google Cardboard. I viewed the compilation trailer on the HTC Vive. It creates a feeling that you are there, in the room with the porn star. Paul said that VR content got a boost when the company put faux lips on the lens so the porn star can approach the camera and kiss it.
“It feels like she’s kissing you,” Paul said.
Above: VR porn by Naughty America
Naughty America has 100 VR titles, about 45 minutes each, which Paul believes makes the company the top creator of original VR porn in the world. It advertises the VR porn on its 2D sites and its affiliate networks. And it participates in Reddit forums and advertises to its paid subscribers for its 2D site. The VR films are shot with a 180-degree format, mainly because people don’t really want to turn completely around while watching VR porn, and that format helps reduce costs.
“100 percent of our VR content is originally shot in VR,” Paul said.
He added that the company is getting better at shooting VR films. He won’t talk about the production process, which is very difficult, in terms of formatting content for VR. He considers that one of the company’s main competitive advantages in VR technology.
“The adult entertainment industry has always been interested in emerging technologies, so I wasn’t surprised to see Naughty America on the show floor,” said Chris Morris, a freelance reporter who has covered the business of adult entertainment for CNBC, Fortune, and others. “They’re one of several adult companies trying to ride the VR wave – but are chasing it more aggressively than their competitors. Certainly, judging by the number of people at their meeting room and at the E3 trade show last June who wanted to try it out, it seems they’re succeeding in their efforts.”
Who watches VR porn? The U.S. is No. 1 for Naughty America’s content. People don’t exclusively look at 2D porn or VR porn. They go from one to another. It’s very situational, and consumers enjoy porn across all the devices that they have. New York and California are big porn consumers, as are Missouri and Utah.
“This market is moving fast, and augmented reality is starting to take off too,” Paul said.
