On Monday, May 6, the ongoing rumor that pops up in the news every month popped up again: A financial analyst told Reuters News Service that Sony and Microsoft will be lowering the prices of their respective game consoles. This time, the story appeared everywhere, including on the local TV news. So, is it true?

Have Microsoft and Sony announced or confirmed price drops? No. Are the rumors true? Good question. Rumors have pointed to Microsoft pre-empting its competitors by lowering the price of the Xbox at E3 to a possible price of $199. We believe it. Nobody at Microsoft is willing to confirm the rumors, since they're probably waiting to announce it for E3. What about Sony? We spoke with Sony's Director of Communications today about the very subject.

"We're definitely comfortable at $299," said Molly Smith, Sony Computer Entertainment America's public relations director. "Certainly it's something we have always been aggressive with. We have always passed on to the consumer any cost efficiencies that we're able to. But think about it, we're coming close to having sold through 28 million units worldwide. We think that $299 is a very reasonable price for consumers."