Sport photopraphers will get access to the camera of Gran Turismo to create in-game shots.
Photo credit: Reddit / UDeVaSTaTeDBoY
Getty Images, one of the biggest visual media suppliers worldwide, announced a partnership with Polyphony Digital, the developers of Gran Turismo. The agency’s sport photographers will get access to the in-game camera systems of GT.
In doing so, Getty Images becomes the official photographic agency of the FIA Certified GT Championships. The supplier owns one of the biggest collections of sports photos, covering more than 50,000 events per year. Sports photographers working for Getty will get access to the in-game events via a special PS4 console.
“This partnership aims to bridge the gap between two worlds -virtual and real- to showcase the beauty and exhilaration of simulated racing to a wider global audience,” Polyphony says in a press release.
Gran Turismo Partners With Getty Images for Virtual Motorsport Photography – https://t.co/w8vycmzk6N
— Clive Rose (@cliverose) June 30, 2020
Delighted to part of this project with Gran Turismo. A title that went along way to enhance my appreciation for cars and motorsport ❤️ #GranTurismo #GettyImages pic.twitter.com/nVkU8GqH7V
However, the collaboration doesn’t come out of the blue. Getty already delivered pictures from the 2019 GT World Tour. From now on, they will exclusively distribute the in-game photographs from online and offline esports events.
“This partnership with Polyphony Digital signifies the next phase of sport photography and the true growth that is occurring across the esports landscape,” says Ken Mainardis, Global Head of Content at Getty Images.
Esports community is not convinced
A lot of esports fans are not convinced of the partnership as many responses under the announcement tweet of Getty Images show.
The critics claim the announced service is not esports photography. Some of them also attached pictures of what they expect esports photography to look like.
This is not esports photography.
— Chris Ceg (@chrisceg) July 1, 2020
This is esports photography. pic.twitter.com/ltR0vn4kyq
Another point of criticism is that real-world sports photographers get to control the camera. The fans point out that there are many talented esports photographers who should get the chance to create these shots instead.
Gran Turismo is currently running its 2020 FIA Championships. We are excited to see the first pictures of the esports series created by Getty’s photographers.
