Following up on last week’s announcement of FIFA 14’s new features, I’m always excited when the next iteration of the FIFA video game series is being released. For video gamers in North America, the release date for FIFA 14 is reportedly September 24.

It’s already been mentioned that most of the on-field changes focus on the build-up play in midfield, which should take away some of the ‘arcadey’ style play that has been one of the biggest criticisms that has plagued the game for years.

So, while I am excited for the tweaks that EA has announced, what are some of the other things that caught my eye?

1. The revamped interface looks promising. Let’s be honest, the UI has needed changes for years and by ripping a page from their own playbook and using the screens from Ultimate teams and from the Madden series, it may make it easier to navigate between screens and not be so boring.

2. Licenses for England’s Blue Square Bet (the Conference) and Brazil’s Figueirense are being added.

3. It’s rumored that there will be another PS Vita version of FIFA. I’m hoping that EA doesn’t make the same mistake of giving us a roster update like they did last year but a lot of that hinges on whether or not PS Vita sales stay up between now and then.

4. There have been no announcements about next-gen iterations yet, but we can hope. But one never knows so it would be wise to see what happens at this year’s E3 Conference. If new systems are announced, it’s a good chance FIFA may be there.

Here’s hoping that in the next few months EA gives us a steady diet of goodies to get us hyped before September 24 rolls around. If some of these changes hold up, then we may lucky enough to get something that does not feel like a roster update. Otherwise stay tuned for any news regarding PES 14 from Konami.