Page 62 - AVN March 2017

FEATURE
“We’ve just started shooting European girls and now with American girls, now
in the USA, and we are focusing on British girls and Asian girls and different types
of girls, so everyone will find what they want,” noted Reality Lovers spokeswoman
Nina. “Right now, we have approximately 100 scenes that users can view.”
Also at the Reality Lovers booth was one of its content shooters, Stefan Geisler
of AmazingContent.com, a production company based in the Czech Republic, who
can’t wait for VR technology to evolve.
“I always like to compare it to Fred Flintstone’s car,” he said. “This is about the
level of technology we have right now. We have to work with cameras that we put
together ourselves, and every scene is still experimental. Of course, we have some
routines by now, after 60, 70, 80 scenes but it still feels like you’re working with
Stone Age technology, because for instance, there’s no camera you can take out of
the box and shoot right away. That makes it very complicated compare to regular
2D flat porn.”
That said, Geisler had no problem making a few predictions.
“On the one hand, you will have connected toys, which will be a big thing,
where you have a Fleshlight or dildos connected by Bluetooth or similar
technology to the viewing device so that you can actually feel what’s going on,
so I’m pretty sure [teledildonics] is part of the future. As for adding scent, I’m
not sure if that’s a good thing; I think sometimes you wont even want to smell
it. Then, this year and next year, there will be a lot of headsets coming out where
you don’t need a phone anymore; a lot of headsets with wireless technology where
you have built-in displays so you don’t have to put in your phone, where you can
broadcast the content directly from your computer to the headset, and that will
give you much more comfort in viewing. Then the future step will be starting to
mix virtual reality and real reality, so at some point we will be at a point where
you have a virtual girl sitting with you on your couch, so I hope that will happen,
but I think it will take maybe a few years before we can do that at a financially
acceptable level.”
But for now, smartphone-based headsets are the rule, and one manufacturer,
RubyVR, also had a booth in Muse Hall. The high-end manufacturer specializes in
made-to-order headsets and has released several varieties of VR viewers, including
several with individually adjustable lenses. The company, which has been
approved by Google, has ties to major content producers including BadoinkVR,
VRPorn.com and Gamelink.
“We are just now launching our latest product which is an immersive wrap-
around headset that you use to watch 360-degree videos through your mobile
device,” explained Senior VP of Sales and Marketing Michael Donohue. “It’s very
light, relatively inexpensive, works with all mobile phones and all the reviews so
far have been tremendous, so we’re very excited. Just put the cellphone in, flip it
closed and you’re ready to go. We’re the last piece of the puzzle.”
VR producer SinVR, which provides virtual online shopping experiences for a
variety of companies, brought its latest creation, a VR-based game, to display at
the expo.
“SinVR is an interactive adult game that we launched five months ago, in which
you have sex with artificially intelligent characters,” explained Eyal Erez. “It’s like
visiting HBO’s Westworld but without the violence. What people can expect to see
is, they can interact with the characters using their hands. It’s fully interactive;
you can move around them, they are talking to you while you do that and it’s
really fun.”
Though gameplay currently requires that the headset be connected to a
computer, with the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift being the recommended
choices, the company is working on a GearVR version that will be playable
through Samsung smartphones.
“Our plans for the future are to take it to the next stage,” Erez said, “and in that
next stage, you would actually be able to have sex with other people on another
VR headset. That’s the future of interactive sex.”
Finally, there was RGBVR, based in Beijing, China, whose business model is
to offer “end-to-end VR live and 360-degree 3D panoramic video solutions” to
the Asian market, though its appearance at AEE marks the company’s attempt
to expand its services worldwide. Though not a content producer, the company
offers to set any live-cam producer up with a turnkey operation whose player app
can deliver everything from 3D cinema to immersive VR ranging from 180 to 360
degree viewing. The app is available on Google Play and in many Chinese app
stores.
Judging from the oohs and aahs coming from AEE attendees who sampled
the sexy offerings from the expo’s VR exhibitors, there’s little doubt that virtual
reality will be giving adult entertainment’s “real” reality a run for its (and
consumers’) money for some time to come—and the adult industry, always on the
forefront of technological innovation, is ready to welcome it with open arms.
AVN SHOW 2017
GAME FACES
RubyVR, Polaroid sponsor live broadcasts at AVN Expo
One of the notable “firsts” at this year’s AVN Adult Entertainment Expo involved porn stars and video
games. Manuel Ferrara and Kayden Kross teamed with RubyVR and Polaroid for a first-of-its-kind digital
gaming lounge that brought major star power to the convention floor at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las
Vegas.
The RubyVR Polaroid Lounge, located in the center of Artists Hall, featured the five-time AVN Male
Performer of the Year Ferrara broadcasting live on Twitch.tv for tens of thousands of fans.
Twitch is the world’s leading video platform for gamers with more than 45 million enthusiasts gathering
online every month to broadcast, watch and chat.
RubyVR has been sponsoring Ferrara’s Twitch broadcasts at his channel, ManuelFerraraTV, providing
custom RubyVR headsets that are often shown during Ferrara’s gaming episodes. And Polaroid signed on
for the AVN Show, creatiing a unique collaboration that came about as a result of the deal-making efforts by
Ferrara’s partner, Kayden Kross, who is featured in RubyVR ads as an official spokesmodel. She greeted fans
at the RubyVR Polaroid Lounge in Vegas between other appearances.
Ferrara accepted challenges from fans and hung out with dozens of porn stars and industry friends on his
Twitch stream every day live from the show floor.
“We had Rachel Starr, we had Karlee Grey, we had Abella Danger, of course Kayden Kross, Angela White,
Brett Rossi, Jennifer White. We had so many girls come by, so it’s really fun,” Ferrara told AVN at the expo.
Ferrara said on the first day the ManuelFerraraTV channel cracked the Top 10 of streams for all of Europe.
Ferrara said that thanks to the rapid growth of his Twitch following and the increasing support of his
sponsors he’s planning to expand with a weekly show about anime and is also preparing to launch a podcast
with Kayden Kross and his friend Benzaie, a famous French gamer who joined Ferrara & Co. at his booth in
Vegas. (Pictured at right, Benzaie, adult star Jesse and Ferrara; photo by Hew Burney.)
Said Michael Donohue, RubyVR’s executive vice president of sales & marketing, “RubyVR is proud to
work with two very prominent personalities in the adult industry like Kayden Kross and Manuel Ferrara.
Their focus on VR makes it a great partnership! And the Twitch marathon and the resulting charitable
contribution is just one excellent example of what can be accomplished.”
— Dan Miller
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