Why Does This Rumor Refuse To Die?

[Bodhesatva]

Chemical said:
It is definitely plausible not only Konami can cash in with a larger audience but Kojima is no longer useful to Konami. MGS4 is the last game he is going to make(correct me if I am wrong) and why would Konami care about Kojima once MGS is done?

No, it's not his last game, it's just his last Metal Gear game. He has strongly stated that his next project will be a Wii game. Keep in mind that this hasn't materialized into actual projects, so until it does, it's just speculation. Still, his wording is very strong:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/kojima/kojima-doesnt-care-about-hd-interested-in-wii-225925.php
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=140020&site=psw

Key quotations:

I've played Tennis, Zelda and Mario on Wii. I find Tennis very interesting. I played the early version but the E3 version is far more advanced. As a game designer, I'm very interested in creating something for the Wii. I'd like to run away from MGS 4 creation and create something for the Wii but unfortunately, I don't have anything that I can announce at the moment. I have lots of ideas for Wii but I have a heavy schedule with MGS 4 and Metal Gear Online.

 

Wii! [laughs] Yes, I want to do it. I'm saying this everyday. But first, I have to face this giant that is called Metal Gear Solid 4, so until I'm finished with that, I can't do anything... We're not the ones who are saying we want HD. I'm not interested, myself, about HD at all. MG games tend not to care about how clean the screen looks...we deliberately make the graphics look dirtier to give the atmosphere more life.