‘I really want you to have it,” said one of my team members, when a box arrived around Christmas two years ago. “I think you’re going to love it.”
When I opened the box, I couldn’t believe it. Inside, I found an unexpected Oculus Quest 2, the most popular virtual reality headset on the market. VR had been a common topic within our company for some time. Slightly intimidated, I waited until early in the new year before charging it up and giving it a try.
While many adult VR companies may be fledgling, VR has taken flight in the mainstream, and these users are fearless about spending money.
Despite the flak that Meta has taken over the quality of its VR device, it offered a refined experience for my virtual entry into a potentially metaverse-capable future. Once I put on the headset, there was unlimited free content and games. My first response to the new tech was, “When did all this happen?”
I became addicted, and I now use my headset daily, including my cardio workout app, five days a week without exception. The gadget I would have never bought myself turned out to be the perfect gift. I did, in fact, love it.
I’m not alone. Worldwide sales of virtual reality headsets have been accelerating. According to Statista, approximately 5.4 million units were sold in 2019, and 2023 projections are for 11.2 million units. By the end of this year, cumulative sales of VR headsets will have reached 25 million units.
That’s definitely progress, but it still means only 0.31% of the world’s population will own a headset, despite the billions of dollars invested and years of buildup. The internet was made for porn, but was virtual reality?
On the adult forums, chatter about VR often turns negative. Some members dump on VR in general, calling it a massive global failure. Others complain about how porn isn’t leading the way on this new technology, how expensive it is to shoot VR porn and how “nobody” in adult is making any real money.
After 25 years in the industry, I know that just because people aren’t proclaiming their success in VR from the rooftops, that doesn’t mean there isn’t big money in virtual reality porn — it means that the ones making money are smart enough to keep their mouths shut. Just because VR hasn’t taken off for you doesn’t mean it hasn’t taken off for anyone else. There is always someone winning.
Skeptics point to the lack of adoption of VR compared to current cellphone and computer adoption. Over 90% of the world’s population has a cell phone and 47% of households own a computer — but it wasn’t always that way. The first personal computer appeared 52 years ago, in 1971. The first cellphone was in 1983, 40 years ago. Both took time to ramp up.
The first commercial VR headset, by Nintendo, didn’t appear until 1995 — and completely flopped. In fact, the first commercial success for VR wasn’t until 2010 with the Oculus Rift. It’s true that VR hasn’t been widely adopted, but that’s because we’re still too early in the technology’s life cycle. Most people have never tried VR because headsets are expensive and are not yet seen as necessary for everyday life.
When it comes to VR porn, the global user base is even smaller, since not only does less than 1% of the global population own VR headsets, but many who do are kids. With a target audience of less than 15 million adults, that “too early” applies doubly to VR porn. But make no mistake: the people positioning themselves now will be the ones to profit in the future when owning a VR headset will be on the same trajectory as personal computers and mainstream game consoles.
In today’s rapidly evolving world, new technologies emerge, flourish and die at a breakneck pace. Adopting new technology is never guaranteed; only some technologies are genuinely transformative. Individuals and businesses must navigate several phases to embrace any new technology, and understanding these phases is critical in order to benefit from them:
- “Awareness” begins with early adopters recognizing the existence of new technology and understanding its potential applications and advantages. This starts with media coverage, marketing efforts and word of mouth.
- “Curiosity” for in-depth information naturally forms when people become interested in the potential benefits and applications of the new technology.
- The ensuing “Experimentation” phase is crucial because it involves early adopters trying and using the technology.
- After thorough evaluation — positive experiences required — we get “Adoption” of the technology as it becomes implemented into society.
- Of course, new technology doesn’t appear and stay the same forever. Once in use, it must undergo “Adaptation” and integration, changing and adjusting to better fit our lives and realize potential uses. Think of early cellphones versus touch screens.
- Over time, technology becomes fine-tuned and predictable, reaching “Maturity” as companies routinely release updates and build new products.
- At that point, “Saturation” of the market will occur, and the technology will be considered commonplace. Then as described in the book “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” the once-new technology will ultimately be disrupted again, and the whole process will repeat.
Reviewing this progression, it is clear that we are still in the early phases of VR technology, far from Maturity and Saturation. Those prematurely announcing the failure of VR technology fail to realize this. Plus, based on the statistics, many of those people rarely, if ever, use a headset themselves.
My own VR experience was initially mainstream, but for this article I took a deep dive into VR porn. Entering the members area of one of the leading companies, which included VR live webcams and feature videos, I found that experiencing VR porn for the first time was startlingly immersive. I felt so awkwardly close to the performers that I thought if I said something, they would hear me. The best part was feeling like I was there. Ironically, the worst part was also feeling like I was there — front and center, in a poorly scripted porno — but that’s what fast-forward was invented for.
Years ago, the consensus inside and outside of adult was that VR would be considered viable when it passed certain tipping points: First, when the devices evolved from tethered to portable. Second, when there was enough quality content. Third, when early adopters using VR every day began telling non-users how great it is. We’ve already moved past all three.
While many adult VR companies may be fledgling, VR has taken flight in the mainstream, and these users are fearless about spending money. After all, they already spent big money on their headsets. Spending a few more bucks on a new game or expansion pack doesn’t require a second thought.
Like mobile phones, computers and the internet, today there are already entire communities, industries and supporting businesses formed around VR technology. Think of the supporting structures around premium social media platforms. There is a plethora of creators supporting these sites, but account managers and model marketing agencies have also popped up. These technologies all have a “network effect” that causes them to become more powerful as more people use them.
Speaking of which: My teams work remotely worldwide, so we meet on the last Friday of every month for a “happy hour” hangout. When our team reached a tipping point of nearly 25% of members with headsets, we also started VR happy hours. They’ve been great for team building, and like VR itself, we’re only getting started. Maybe one day all of our gatherings will be in VR. It’s probably still a little early for that — but just a little.
Juicy Jay is the CEO and founder of the JuicyAds advertising network, as well as the founder of Broker.xxx, which helps people buy and sell adult websites and businesses. He also provides executive consulting, business strategy and marketing services at Consulting.xxx.
