The announcement of the Oculus Rift’s release next year brought with it a flood of exciting questions about the future of home entertainment, and the role that the first commercially available virtual reality headset might play in it. But perhaps no question was more immediate, or more fervent, than, “Is it gonna have virtual porn? Follow-up question: How soon can I get that porn in my face?” And according to the hilariously-named-for-this-situation Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, the answer is a generous, welcoming “yes,” with the company announcing plans to be totally cool with you using it for porn.
In a panel during the first-ever—and, we’d wager, the last to be entirely porn-free—Silicon Valley Virtual Reality Conference, Luckey was asked whether the company planned to block adult entertainment apps, the way Google did when it basically threw Google Glass in the garbage. Recognizing that all new technology succeeds almost solely by virtue of its filling sexual need in a faster, more immersive way, Luckey wisely confirmed that it would not.
“The Rift is an open platform,” Luckey replied, wink wink. “We don’t control what software can run on it. And that’s a big deal.”
Indeed, welcoming anyone to run its software all along the Oculus’ gaping, wide-open platform, as it practically begs them to put its porn inside, is a big deal. Particularly when, as Variety notes, most other VR companies don’t even want to hear about your porn. Luckey’s fellow panelists all reportedly “dodged” questions about X-rated apps the same way they avoided talking about the possibility of “motion sickness and other side effects,” all of which so many will ignore for the promise of a new way to masturbate.
Of course, Luckey conveniently didn’t mention that Oculus is owned by Facebook, meaning Facebook will no doubt force you to install an app that automatically lets your friends and family know what porn you’ve watched lately. Not that this would be a deterrent for some people.