Sony is one for surprises, especially when it comes to community events. So, following a meme that a certain member of the development team had not had his hair cut since January, and had promised not to do so until Beta, it was announced that at 12pm GMT Matt Higby, creative director of Planetside 2 would face the barber at last to announce the official details of the Planetside2 beta.
Live viewership
Online viewership surged quickly, reaching approximately four thousand watching the shearing live. The event began with several fans getting their hair cut, with the option of a colorful stencil of the chosen empire temporarily being dyed into their hair. For the first hour, fans and developers shed their locks leading up to the main event, dubbed Higby’s Hairpocalypse.
Haircuts for all!
The event was held at Floyd’s 99 in San Diego. SOE handed out Empire dog-tags and beta keys to attendees, with the promise of an announcement following Higby’s hair destruction. The crowd grew and supporters of PS Two arrived to get their own haircuts in eager anticipation of the upcoming beta announcement. There was a mixture of Vanu Sovereignty, New Conglomerate and Terran Republic players present and the hair stylists gave a huge effort to provide the players with the empire logo’s in colored dyes. A lot of the SOE team also took part in the event, with Tramell (senior art director for Planetside 2) and Maggie (game designer for Planetside 2) both having a shave and a haircut, respectively. When the time came for Higby’s mop to go, guest star Total Biscuit provided a live commentary of the event.
That was not all. Prizes were given out to attendees after a raffle was taken at the end, when Higby’s hair was finally sent into the netherworld. Higby himself called out the winners, and SOE handed out goodies which included Empire specific t-shirts and sneakers, as well as various other goodies. The whole event lasted approximately one hour and 30 minutes altogether, and somewhere near 40 fans had their heads shorn and dyed to show their support for PS Two.
The end result? The beta was announced, and will potentially begin within the next few days, with a technical test hopefully followed afterwards with a phased external test, including more and more people as the beta progresses. Further details can be found over on Planetside Universe, directly from Higby posted before the haircut. Speaking for myself, I cannot wait to get my hands on the new conglomerate Reaver!
What do you think? Was this a hair raising experience of anticipation, or did you feel that it would have been better just to have a beta confirmation? Let us know by leaving a comment here or posting on the forums!
