Read Between The Lines: EA Is Not Hot On Traditional Handheld Platforms Just Now.

Seemingly now favouring mobile development, top EA executive Frank Gibeau was cautious in his discussion about Vita with CVG.

"We're going to publish a few games on it [Vita] and see how it develops," he said, presumably grudgingly.

But even though Gibeau's tentative attitude was deafening, the executive did add that he believes Sony's new platform is much better equipped than the Nintendo 3DS.

"I think that part of the videogame business [the handheld market] is tough right now because they have had some significant competition come in that was totally disruptive, and that was the smartphone," he explained.

"I think [Sony has] got a shot because they have some really unique innovation in the control scheme, the technology and the screen. It's got a lot of social features now so that you can actually communicate with your friends and be social.

"You can't ring them up by putting the device up to your ear but in general I think they've got most of the capabilities that you'd find in a smart phone, with some unique capabilities that make them stand out."

Gibeau feels that Sony's handheld will launch with a much stronger software line-up than 3DS. Ironically for Gibeau, EA shipped a couple of titles for the 3DS at launch.

"I don't think they're quite in the same boat as the 3DS... the 3DS was a really interesting piece of technology but I think there was some confusion over it and the title slate was a little different," he said.

"I think Vita has a better chance because it has a stronger title slate at launch. PSP's had a great run in Europe as a device, it seems to have reached a much larger audience here than it did in North America. So I think they've got a good shot."

Whatever Gibeau's opinion, it's clear that EA has already bet on the smartphone ship. Unless Vita (or indeed) 3DS turns into some kind of phenomenom, we can't see EA giving either of the platforms the full support they deserve.