At this year’s Social Media Week in Hamburg there was also a special conference on the topic »VR Porn and the Intimacy of the Future«.
Simon Graff is a VR expert and head of the local business initiative nextReality.Hamburg. At this year’s Social Media Week Hamburg at the end of February, he presented his findings on the current state of VR pornography in a panel discussion with experts and researchers. Under the title »VR Porn and the Intimacy of the Future?«, participants of the panel discussed the developments in the relatively young industry and its significance for the future of human sexuality and intimacy.
Graff emphasized the special role that pornography plays in advancing technology: »We see many digital innovations here because the porn industry is always striving to improve the user experience.«
The panelists on the podium included Graff, researchers Margit Jäger and Frank Steinicke, porn actress and VENUS Award winner Lullu Gun, producer René Pour and Tom Mudra, product developer at Amorelie. The panelists agreed that storytelling in VR pornography in particular still leaves plenty of room for development. So far, the sheer novelty of the technology is so great that the numerous innovations and sophisticated developments in the world of pornography are barely reflected in the VR world, instead widely known standard scenarios and positions are being shot.
Steinicke, in particular, pointed out that the new technology also makes new scenarios possible. With ASMR and psychological effects completely new sensual experiences are also conceivable. Steinicke used an example from phobia research to explain this: »When someone gets a spider on their hand in the virtual world, their body reacts with sweating and a racing heart – at least if they can’t stand spiders.
All participants assume that interactivity will become the key to success in VR pornography. An idea especially expressed by René Pour: »In fact, we are still in the very early stages of VR sex. We will see a strong development towards more interactivity.«
A step in exactly this direction came from Berlin these days. The VR startup me.mento launched its VR platform vrXcity, which enables interactive, adult experiences with realistically replicated, animated avatars of famous porn stars.