Rumours are flying around the gaming community that Konami is breaking its Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 exclusive and bringing it to the 360. SPOnG has taken the time to dig a little deeper and found that this is far from fact.

XboxLiveAddicts reports that, “It's been confirmed that it will hit the 360 also in 2008.” The site goes on to claim that the release will feature content that's exclusive to the 360 a la GTA IV and should be out around November of next year.

SPOnG can tell you, however, that Konami has confirmed nothing of the sort - it's all still very much in the realm of speculation. We spoke to a representative of the company, who told us simply, “We don't comment on speculation.” Does that mean that MGS 4 definitely won't come to the 360? No. But it does mean that Konami has consigned any 'confirmation' to pure rumour.

SPOnG queried the 'fact' that Konami is in talks with Nintendo to bring MGS to the Wii, and we were once again met with, “We don't comment on speculation.” Okay, so this is what's called in the trade, a "non-denial, denial (NDD)". It's the kind of phrase that is used to maintain interest in the public and to ensure that stock markets are not thrown into chaos leading to the end of global capitalism.

Of course, we exaggerate (it's Monday, we're allowed)... however, while a NDD is certainly not a confirmation of a project going ahead, it is massively annoying for all concerned. Just for once, a "Nope, we're entirely aware of the story to which you refer, and it's total nonsense," would be good.

Don't get us wrong, it is not just Konami that uses the "we don't comment on speculation" line - the entire video game industry has adopted this phrase. With this in mind, SPOnG is now going to set up a league tab table based on the NDD - with plus points awarded for every straight answer and minus points awarded for every NDD.

A grand prize will be awarded at the end of the year.

For more on Metal Gear Solid 4 visit SPOnG's dedicated game page.