In the developer's diary on the official Iris no Atelier: Eternal Mana 2 website, director Kazushige Masuda revealed that the highly anticipated sequel to last year's popular PlayStation 2 title has gone gold. The game is on track to be released in Japan on May 26th.

In the diary's newest entry, Masuda also commented on the US version of the first game, Iris no Atelier: Eternal Mana. He mentioned that the staff at Gust began pondering the idea of a US release in July 2004, before the development of Eternal Mana 2 began. Describing the current industry landscape as one where major companies were focusing on games with 3D visuals that cater to western audiences, the Iris no Atelier: Eternal Mana 2 director emphasized Gust's desire to continue developing more traditionally Japanese games. A key motivation behind the decision to bring the prequel to the US was the recent manga and anime boom as well as the growing acceptance of traditional Japanese games in North America.

Nippon Ichi subsidiary NIS America will publish Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana in the US on May 25th.

• Namae No Nai Heya