Problematic Press Passes?

I've heard anecdotal evidence that the third time wasn't the charm for some members of the media who tried to get in to Sony's grand unveiling of the Playstation 3 this afternoon. Derek Signore, a member of the GameMethod team with whom I'll be covering the show, tells me approximately 100 to 200 people, including him, were turned away from the press conference despite receiving online confirmation for their attendance. It seems that members of the press who registered their spots a month or less before the conference were put on a standby list and had the most trouble getting in. Sony reportedly gave no advance warning that the conference was overbooked or that people would have problems getting in.

Some people who had problems, including another member of the GameMethod team, were able to use their contacts to join the approximately 2,100 who filled the 1,800 seating capacity sound stage. Still, Signore tells me that press from sources ranging from U.S. News and World Report to Gamespot were not allowed in. Many foreign press members were also reportedly turned away due to a lack of translators. A large group of the rejected reportedly gathered at the Starbucks across the street from Sony's Culver City Studios while the conference was going on.

To be clear, this is all based on anecdotal, hearsay evidence that I have made no effort to confirm. I myself didn't attend the conference, or see the lines of people turned away for myself. I'm just reporting what I'm hearing at this point. Have your own Sony press conference horror story? Want to report a general problem getting access to anyone at E3? Fill out a comment below or write me about it.