There is a quip in a fanfic story made by the devs that suggest an early february beta start and an early may release date for the game.
if you read this fictional news story: http://www.planetside2.com/news/dec232011backstory
and scroll to the bottom you will read:
> Because of that, we’re willing to make a deal. If you can raise the necessary number of volunteers by February 12th, then we will honor our end of the bargain and fund the repair and reconditioning of 200 ships. But it’s all up to you, Tom. You’ve got three weeks.
Sounds like the volunteer beta sign up people. And then you have:
>A launch date of May 13, 2638, the anniversary of the Armistice, has been chosen.
Funny how they use the words launch date. Funny how both dates are early next year, and may 20th was the release date of planetside 1...and they say the "anniversary of armistice" may 20th is close to the 13th for the 9th anniversary of planetside.
Then again I could be delusional in my DO WANTING of ps2 lol.
You have to buy $40 worth of sony bucks, but your instantly in the beta.
You get some extra gear on launch, and all the sony bucks can be used to purchase in game currency.
No prices have been set yet for the game.