 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pornography |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Joone [1] |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Parent | MindGeek |
| Website | www |
Digital Playground Inc. is an American independent pornographic film studio, headquartered in Burbank, California. It has been called one of the five biggest porn studios and, in 2006, was described by Reuters as one of the handful of studios that dominate the U.S. porn industry. [2]
Adult director Joone founded the company [1] in 1993, originally making adult CD-ROM computer games. [3] [4] The company became an innovator in making pornography available on personal computers. [5]
In 2003, DP began working with a company specializing in hologram technology, with the aim of bringing the actress "into the viewer's living room". [3] DP began filming in high-definition in 2005. [6] In January 2006 the company chose Blu-ray Disc over rival format HD DVD because Joone felt Blu-ray Disc was more future-proofed. [5] DP initially had difficulty finding a company prepared to produce its films in the Blu-ray Disc format, as companies that replicated DVDs were reluctant to deal with the pornography industry. [5]
The Digital Playground studios have been at the forefront for iPads, HD and three-dimension technology for cinema and television in the porn industry. [7] The company has claimed that "many technology brands have used the adult industry (and DP, in particular), to test new markets" because of "the sheer scale of the porn industry". [7]
The studio was acquired by MindGeek (then known as Manwin) in March 2012. [8]
In 2018, the Government of India banned the websites of Digital Playground, among other porn websites, after a Uttarakhand High Court court order demanding the same in a rape case where the perpetrators stated they were motivated to do so after watching online pornography. [9]
Digital Playground introduced the virtual sex genre of CD-ROMs and DVDs, in which the viewer can control a famous pornographic actress by selecting from a menu of explicit scenes. [3] [10] The first film in the series was released in 1998. [3] In the series the actress looks directly at the camera, and appears to talk directly to the viewer. [3] Virtual Sex with Jenna Jameson is one of the best-selling adult DVDs of all time according to adultdvdempire.com sales charts. [3]
In 2004, Digital Playground produced the first HD pornographic film, Island Fever 3, shot on location in Tahiti and Bora Bora.
On March 12, 2012, it was reported that the website for Digital Playground was breached, resulting in customer information being compromised. Included in the information breached and portions made public were usernames, e-mail addresses, passwords, credit card numbers and expiration dates. [11] [12] The membership page on that date stated that their member services were "temporarily unavailable" and that "We are currently verifying the security parameters on this site and upgrading the entire system in order to better safeguard your information."
Digital Playground's production team is led by director Robby D. and producer/director Joone who directed the Virtual Sex series. [3]
Most notable films released by Digital Playground are:
The following is a non-exhaustive list of porn industry awards that DP films have won:
As of January 2020, Digital Playground has a traffic ranking of 53,832. [20]
Devon is an American pornographic film actress. She was a Penthouse Pet in 2001 and in 2005 co-starred in the pornographic action-adventure film Pirates, which cost over US$ 1 million to make and was described by its producer as the most expensive pornographic film in history.
Pirates is a 2005 American pornographic action-adventure film written, produced, and directed by Joone, and produced by Digital Playground and Adam & Eve. The film, starring Jesse Jane, Carmen Luvana, Janine Lindemulder, Devon, Jenaveve Jolie, Teagan Presley, and Evan Stone, features many references to the mainstream Hollywood film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Jenna Haze is an American director, model, and former pornographic actress.
Cynthia Ann Howell, known professionally as Jesse Jane, was an American pornographic film actress. She entered the industry in the early 2000s, and later transitioned into mainstream film and television roles.
Wicked Pictures is an American independent pornographic movie studio headquartered in Canoga Park, California. Between 2004 and 2021, it was one of the only heterosexual studios to maintain a condoms-only policy.
Thomas Joseph Strada, better known by his stage name Tommy Gunn, is an American pornographic actor and director. He has made several mainstream appearances, including an episode of Entourage and music videos for Buckcherry and Rilo Kiley. In 2016, Gunn was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.
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Joanna Mostov, professionally known as Joanna Angel, is an American pornographic film actress, director, and writer of adult films. She founded the website BurningAngel.com in April 2002 with her roommate Mitch Fontaine, and has been credited with helping the growth of the alt porn genre. Launched as a response to websites such as SuicideGirls, the website featured alternative performers acting in exclusively hardcore scenes with a stronger focus on a punk aesthetic.
Joone is an American entrepreneur, photographer, director and producer. For directing pornographic films, he won AVN Award twice. In 1993, Joone founded American pornographic movie studio Digital Playground and was a co-owner of the company until it was acquired by Manwin in 2012.
Céline Tran is a French actress, writer, martial artist, blogger, and former pornographic actress, previously known under the stage name Katsuni, and before that Katsumi. She started her adult film career in 2001, working first in France, then in the United States.
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Zero Tolerance Entertainment is an American independent pornographic film studio. The studios Third Degree Films, Black Ice and Diabolic Video are divisions of Zero Tolerance. The studio's films are generally classed as Gonzo pornography.
Pirates II: Stagnetti's Revenge is a 2008 American pornographic action-adventure film and sequel to the 2005 film Pirates. Produced by Digital Playground, and written and directed by Joone, it stars Jesse Jane, Evan Stone, Steven St. Croix, and Tommy Gunn who reprise their roles from the first film, as well as Belladonna, Sasha Grey, Katsuni, Jenna Haze, and Ben English as new characters. Carmen Luvana, who played the central character of Isabella in the original Pirates, is absent from the sequel.
Stoya is an American pornographic actress, actress, model, and writer.
Riley Steele is an American pornographic actress. She has won several industry awards, including NightMoves Award and XBIZ Award. Throughout her career, she has appeared in various publications such as Hustler, Penthouse, Club, Cheri, Video World and High Society.
Homegrown Video is an independent amateur pornographic video production company based in San Diego. Established in 1982. it was the first company to commercially release and distribute homemade, amateur pornography on videotape.
Robby D. was an American pornographic film director and cinematographer.
The 25th AVN Awards was an event during which Adult Video News (AVN) presented its annual AVN Awards to honor the best pornographic movies and adult entertainment products of 2007 in the United States.
Amanda Hardy, known professionally as Shyla Stylez was a Canadian-born American pornographic actress from Armstrong, British Columbia.
The 26th AVN Awards ceremony, presented by Adult Video News (AVN), honored the best pornographic movies of 2008 and took place on January 10, 2009, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada. During the ceremony, Adult Video News presented AVN Awards in 127 categories released between Oct. 1, 2007 and Sept. 30, 2008. The ceremony, televised in the United States by Showtime, was produced by Gary Miller. Comedian Thea Vidale hosted the show for the second time, joined on stage by actresses Belladonna and Jenna Haze.
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