Adult DVDs are back thanks to age-verification laws

When new technology emerges, pornography soon follows.

From VHS tapes to VR, the adult industry has long been an early adopter of innovative ways to watch and get off.

But now, viewers are turning to a format once thought obsolete: DVDs.

"In our retail locations in South Dakota, we went up probably 20, 22 percent this year over the last year on DVD sales," said David Eliason, owner of three adult stores in the state: Dick & Jane's Naughty Spot, which has locations in Sturgis and Rapid City, and Bonnie & Clyde's Adult Supercenter in Rapid City.

"There's really no other explanation other than [that] South Dakota passed an age verification bill." SEE ALSO: How to unblock Pornhub for free Eliason told Mashable that other stores had previously started eliminating DVD sales altogether due to the availability of free and paid streaming content.

But this might be changing with the surge of age-verification laws, which typically require personal data, be it credit card information, an ID upload, and/or a face scan, to view explicit content (or simply content deemed "harmful to minors" or otherwise restricted to adults).

Age verification laws have taken effect in half of U.S. states and countries like the UK, France, and Italy.

Similar technology is used to enforce social media bans for children, such as the one in Australia . (Other markets have announced similar social media bans, like the EU and UK .) Many people do not comply, such as by using virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask their real location.

Others are going back to physical media.

Rejecting streaming, embracing DVD "We've seen a bump in DVD orders from the states that are enforcing online AV laws," Lewis Adams, director of sales at Pulse Distribution, told Mashable over email.

Pulse Distribution is a domestic and international distributor for porn films in home video, broadcast, internet, and wireless platforms.

It handles 90 percent of adult studios, including the well-known Brazzers and Reality Kings, according to Adams.

Pulse sells to wholesalers, who in turn sell to retail stores and the general public.

Since Pulse doesn't sell directly to consumers, its operation hasn't changed due to laws, but Adams said he's seen how DVD sales are shifting in the industry.