GameCrush Digital Courtesan Success Shows Mobile Phone Sex Is On the Rise
The new digital service GameCrush, which pairs gamers with a beautiful woman to play online games with, is a hit. Big surprise. The important point here isn't that young men will pay for the company of a cute gamer, but how the financial success of GameCrush will launch a virtual erotic gold rush for Apple (APPL) iPhone FaceTime and other video chat services.
Speaking to GameCrush co-Founder Eric Strasser, Michael Arrington at TechCrunch says that "...despite the fact that the site is in a strict invite only beta, the money is rolling in. More than one player has spent over $10,000, says Strasser. And some playdates have made over $2,000 in the short time the beta has been live. Playdates can also get extra money from tips and virtual goods."
Online play. Webcam streaming video. Virtual goods. The GameCrush blueprint can be applied to the tablet (gaming) and phone (webcam) combination and, as GameCrush has already raised a $700,000 angel round of funding, enterprising companies will be flocking to bring the gaming courtesan idea to the mobile for a couple reasons:
Open SDK: Apple has opened up the FaceTime software development kit, which increases the likelihood of a mobile GameCrush. Furthermore, even if it did want to censor what was shown through its popular video chat software, Steve Jobs and company would have a difficult time separating the personal calls from the business transactions (Think ChatRoulette). As discussed before, iPhone Craigs List phone sex ads have been up since the FaceTime launch, not to mention start-ups aimed directly for the iPhone and iPad.
The tablet wars: Playing on a mobile phone while trying to use a webcam is awkward at best, but a GameCrush-like service could thrive using a phone/tablet combination. For instance, a service could have a gamer connect to a working gal on iPhone FaceTime and simultaneously play a game of Scrabble with her on the iPad.
And Apple isn't the only platform with the growing phone/tablet base: According to Darren Murph of Engadget, Best Buy is making tablets its focus this holiday season, presumably from Toshiba, Texas Instruments (TXN) and countless other contenders. Apple's biggest tablet adversary, Google (GOOG), has already made it clear that the Android platform will remain open.
Based on the success of GameCrush, it's not a matter of if sexy gaming play partners will explode on the mobile, but only of when.
Photo courtesy of Marshall Astor // CC 2.0
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