E3 2011: FIFA 12 for iPad will let players use iPhones as controllers for multiplayer matches
Nice pitch
EA is showing off FIFA 12 for a number of devices at E3 this year, including iPad. For the first time since the series came to iOS, you'll be able to play on iPad using your iPhone or iPod touch as a controller.
FIFA 12 isn't the first iPad game to offer this functionality. It's not even the first EA game to do so - as far as we know, that honour goes to Scrabble, in which you can use your iPhone as a letter holder.
But it's a welcome application of the technology, because it lets you play multiplayer matches on a single screen.
When synced with the iPad game, your iPhone or iPod touch turns into a touchscreen controller with an analogue stick and three buttons. When you have the ball they are 'Through', 'Pass', and 'Shoot'. When you don't have it they're 'Switch', 'Slide', and 'Tackle'.
We had a little shot and it works well, giving you an unobscured view of the pitch. In my case, this meant an unobscured view of the players under my control behaving like idiots and losing the ball. But in the hands of more skilled players this could be a valuable feature.
FIFA 12 will be available this autumn.
