Lucas has announced that the awesome bump-mapped spectacular that is GameCube Rogue Leader has gone gold and is approved for production.

In a statement the company said, “LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC is pleased to announce that Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader for the Nintendo GameCube has been approved for manufacturing! Expected in stores on day one of the American GameCube console launch, Rogue Leader features stunning, movie-like visuals and immerses players in an intense flight action-arcade experience.”

Are you jealous? Yup, so are we. The good news is that if Nintendo ever bother to give European gamers a release date for their latest, very tasty bit of kit, you can rest assured that Rogue Leader will be shelf-ready on day one.