FIFA 14 on PlayStation Vita may be another roster update (update)

Electronic Arts will release a PlayStation Vita version of FIFA 14, but executive producer David Rutter suggested in an interview with Eurogamer that just like FIFA 13 on PS Vita last year, it will be another mere roster update.

FIFA 14 will be the third PS Vita game in the series. Sony launched the handheld in North America in February 2012, and EA's FIFA Soccer (screenshot above) was part of the launch lineup. However, even then, the PS Vita version lagged behind the main console versions — EA had released FIFA 12 on consoles and Windows PC in fall 2011, but FIFA Soccer was based on 2010's FIFA 11.

Last fall, EA released a PS Vita version of FIFA 13, but it turned out that the company hadn't made any perceptible improvements over FIFA Soccer — instead, the games were nearly identical, aside from new rosters and uniforms. (Check out the one-star Amazon reviews from angry buyers slamming EA for delivering a literal roster update.) EA did the same thing with the PS Vita version of Madden NFL 13, which launched last August alongside its console brethren but was more like "Madden NFL 12.5."

Soccer fans might have assumed that EA, with a full year's development cycle, would finally deliver a brand-new FIFA title on PS Vita this fall. But that doesn't appear to be the case.

"it'll be the same great gameplay"

"There will be a Vita version, and it'll be the same great gameplay," Rutter told Eurogamer. Asked to clarify if that means that FIFA 14 on PS Vita will be nearly identical to FIFA Soccer and FIFA 13, he replied, "It's the same great gameplay and new kits." (In soccer, "kit" refers to a club's uniform and equipment.) According to Eurogamer, the PS Vita version of FIFA 14 is being developed not in-house at EA Canada but at an EA studio in Romania.

We've reached out to EA for more details on the PS Vita version of FIFA 14, and will update this article with any information we receive. The game will be released Sept. 24 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC; Nov. 15 on PlayStation 4; and at launch on Xbox One.

Update: An EA Sports representative told Polygon, "FIFA 14 on PS Vita includes all the great game modes and features included in the previous year's product, but with updated kits and rosters for the new football season."