As we all know, popular culture occasionally has the propensity to not only influence society, but also transform it. For instance, Back to the Future 2 inspired a group of hardware developers to make the movie's hover-board happen, and they're getting closer each day. So it's no wonder that ever since the introduction and exploration of virtual reality's possibilities in both film and television, like in the well-known titles Tron and Dr. Who, the question regarding VR's creation quickly changed from whether it could be done to when it will most likely be done.
Enter the tech-makers over at Oculus VR. After Facebook bought the company for $400 million and $1.6 billion in stock options back in March 2014, the development of virtual reality became, well, a reality. With the release of the company's Oculus Rift headsets already due sometime around the beginning of 2016, and with the company's founder Palmer Luckey's promise to keep the system open for software development, the possibilities of digital exploration runs the gamut of human experience, including pornography.
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According to Variety, during a panel at the first Silicon Valley Virtual Reality Conference in San Jose, California, Luckey was asked if his company would prohibit the production and sale of any pornographic apps or content. The Oculus VR head responded by saying, “The rift is an open platform. We don’t control what software can run on it, and that’s a big deal.”
By guaranteeing not to police content, Luckey is taking a bold step that sets the Oculus Rift apart from its competitors. For instance, most film and gaming platforms tightly regulate what can and cannot be sold in their marketplaces, such as the Apple Store, and occasionally the Steam Marketplace. Furthermore, building on company VP Nate Mitchell's claims that the Oculus Rift may be more about film than video games, in actuality the headset has the potential to be much more than either of those mediums. Bearing that in mind, pushing and experimenting with the boundaries and limitations around what kind of virtual reality content can be produced is to be expected, especially since the technology's still in its nascent stages.
Some may believe that allowing pornographic material to be generated for the Oculus Rift is debauched or immoral, and such content therefore deserves to be banned. And, sure, those people's opinions are valid, but that doesn't mean they're right. The First Amendment allows for the freedom of expression, so it covers the adult trade as well. And with porn being a multi-billion dollar industry, it's a no-brainer that Oculus wishes to traffic in that kind of cash flow given the opportunity, especially since chief shareholder Mark Zuckerberg says that the Oculus Rift must sell 50-100 million units to be considered a fiscal success.
Sexually explicit particulars aside, details involving the Oculus Rift's retail price are still up in the air, but Palmer Luckey has previously stated that his company wants it to be as cheap as possible, projecting that they will sell for $200-$400 upon release. Hopefully, for Oculus' sake, they're inexpensive enough to fend off potential rival Sony and its VR model, Project Morpheus.
The Oculus Rift is set for release in the first quarter of 2016.