FIFA Vita Trailer Touch Screen Functionality

No matter if you’re on the go or just sitting down for a casual game with friends, the FIFA franchise will always be there to provide solid entertainment. And, to keep that experience evolving, EA Sports is bringing the series to the PlayStation Vita

But this Vita version won’t be simply FIFA in handheld form — we’ve seen that before anyways — it will be a futbol experience that is strengthened by the Vita’s new flashy features. To help punctuate that point, EA Sports has released a new trailer for FIFA on the Vita that focuses on how the front and rear touch pads could very well change soccer games forever.

While we imagine that traditional FIFA controls will be available, FIFA on the Vita will allow players to pass to teammates by simply pressing in the direction of said teammate. Gone are the days of imprecise passing, or the game’s AI trying to guess who you were intending to pass to. The only real problem that can be seen is having fingers obstructing one’s view whilst running down the pitch.

Additionally, the rear touch pad will handle shooting, but it’s not quite clear how accurate this new feature will be. Instead of deciding between a finesse and power shot it seems like players will only be selecting in which direction they would like the ball to travel.

The front touch screen, however, will handle free kick shooting, much like the passing. A much more understandable way to incorporate the touch screen, but I’m still wary of how strength of shot or pass will be controlled. To see all of these features in action, but not an in-depth explanation of how they will be executed, check out the trailer below:

[HTML1]

While bringing FIFA to the Vita sounds like a good idea, the incorporation of the rear and front touch pad seems like a step backward for the series. However, if traditional controls are preserved, and these new touch capabilities will help introduce new gamers to the sport, then that's a very good thing.

What do you think of the new touch control features being added into the FIFA series?  Would you forgo traditional controls for the precision of a front and rear touch pad? Will FIFA benefit from allowing players to control their shooting and passing using touch?