EA Sports could lure new FIFA video game fans with trainer mode and women’s teams (hands-on)

Electronic Arts could very well have an opportunity to recruit new soccer fans to its FIFA 16 game. Based on an early look that I’ve gotten, FIFA 16 has a trio of new developments that could lure more newbie gamers than usual to the series.

The first is that the women’s FIFA World Cup is happening this summer. That means that there will be more eyeballs on the sport in the U.S. than usual. EA also announced that FIFA 16, coming on Sept. 22, will have 12 women’s national teams for the first time in the 22-year history of the soccer video game. Lastly, EA has added a new “trainer mode” to the live gameplay on the pitch, enabling new players to figure out what to do with the ball at any given moment. The publisher announced this new feature today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the big game trade show in Los Angeles. I’m not a FIFA player, but I enjoyed playing in the newbie-oriented trainer mode.