It’s impossible to know whether it was willfully ironic or just amusingly good timing, but Namco Bandai chose Valentine’s Day to set a nerdtastic new world record for the most number of people dressed as Star Trek characters gathered in one place.
The world record was set at the Millennium Bridge in London on February 14 in support of Star Trek Online, the new MMOG from Cryptic Studios. Not that Trek fans need much of an excuse to dress up but Atari reps sweetened the pot by handing out lifetime subscriptions to the game to the best-dressed cosplayers willing to brave the crappy U.K. weather.
“We spend so much on costumes, [but] there are very few places where you can actually wear them,” explained Kraag Komaq Linkasa, a nattily dressed Klingon. “We’re standing outside the Tate Modern in Klingon uniform. When else could you do that, apart from an event like this?”
The record was set with only 99 Trekkies, a small fraction of the attendance at a decent-sized Star Trek convention, so presumably this is the first time anyone has ever bothered to actually make a record out of it. It’s a safe bet the mark won’t stand for long; convention organizers could very easily make an event out of trying to break the record and Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition Editor Gaz Deaves encouraged fans to set the bar higher. “We’re pleased to kick off this category here in London and hope other Star Trek fans around the world will come forward to break this record again,” he said.
And who knows? Maybe the record-setting gathering on February 14 will become an annual event. After all, Trek fans need something to do on Valentine’s Day too.
Source: Times Online
Published: Feb 16, 2010 03:33 pm