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from the male and female points-of-
view, put headsets on and watch it
simultaneously.” Just picture that
scenario for a moment, will you?
It was once thought that gaming
would be the driving force behind
VR’s popularisation –
until it became apparent
that it was impossible
to depict movement
without inducing serious
motion sickness. There’s
not much fun to be had
in playing entirely static
games, so that – for the
moment, at least – is that.
Porn is now the major
driving force behind
VR’s mass adoption, just
as it was for VHS, digital camcorders
and the internet. Nothing gets people
behind a new technology like sex.
VR does attract talent and
investment from the games industry
- but for strictly X-rated reasons. One
such ship-jumper is Daniel Dilallo,
who made his name working on
gaming mega-brands such as Guitar
Hero and Call Of Duty. Dilallo now
co-runs a buzzed-over start-up called
VRClubz, and is using his technical
know-how to build high-end VR strip
clubs. I’m skyping with Dilallo and
his business partner, Jimmy Hess,
who are both brimming
with excitement over the
imminent launch of
their first venue – a
painstaking VR recreation
of San Francisco’s famed
Gold Club, a glossy,
pricey strip joint
frequented by tech
industry high-rollers.
“What we’re doing with
VRClubz is replicating
the experience of visiting
a bricks-and-mortar strip club,” says
Dilallo. “We’ve reproduced every
room of the Gold Club to a tee, in
360° 3D, and combined that with
hours and hours of VR footage of
the hottest dancers in the world.
“You enter the club and the
front-desk girl greets you and leads
you inside,” he continues. “Fromthere, you’re into full-on immersion:
there are girls at the bar, dancers on
platforms and stages, bartenders, DJs.
You can buy a drink, choose your seat,
visit the VIP room, hit the ATM, ‘make
it rain’... it’s the complete experience.”
“Everyone’s excited about VR porn
right now,” adds Jimmy. “But, for us,
VR has the potential to be so much
more. It’s about participating in – not
just watching – scenarios that you
never dreamed possible. That’s what
VR is becoming, and that’s what
we’re focused on now.”
At the moment, VRClubz – and
the VR porn industry as a whole –
is geared almost entirely towards
(surprise, surprise) straight males.
Market research indicates that 96%
of consumers are men*, which
means female-focused content just
isn’t commercially viable – yet.
“We are currently looking to find
the right male-dancer club to recreate
in VR, and offer that Magic Mike-style
experience,” says Jimmy. Want to feel
like you’re inches from a ripped
fireman who’s gyrating naked,
without having to leave the comfort
of your sofa? Some of the smartest
minds in tech are striving, right now,
to make that happen for you.
With more than 25 years’ experience
under his belt, Robert Weiss is a noted
expert on sex and intimacy issues
unique to these post-internet times.
He’s set up therapy programmes at
more than a dozen US rehab centres,
has authored several sex-disorder-
related books – including Always
Turned On: Sex Addiction In The
Digital Age. When I ask how he
feels about VR porn’s imminent
omnipresence, his response is
wary, but not apocalyptic.
“We can only speculate about the
lasting effects of VR porn,” he says.
“But with every new advance in
digital sexnology, evidence strongly
suggests that more and more people
are challenged by sexual addiction
and porn-related intimacy issues, and
that these issues are tech-related.“VR is about
participating in
scenarios – not
just watching”*ACCORDING TO BADOINK MARKET RESEARCH. MODELS LAUREN H AND MATHEW C AT IMM AGENCY GROUP. HAIR AND MAKE-UP EMILY-JANE WILLIAMS. STYLING SAIREY STEMP. LAUREN WEARS: TOP, LEVI’S. MATHEW WEARS: TOP, TOPMAN.Warning: VR
may create
unrealistic
expectations