Both classic and touch controls confirmed

SEGA's Virtua Tennis franchise has been through multiple iterations since its 1999 arcade debut, going from coin-op to home consoles to portable handhelds. The series has thrice been a launch title on PlayStation platforms, and now SEGA says it's bringing back the original development team for a revamped port of Virtua Tennis 4 for the Vita's launch.

SEGA is promising 22 playable characters, including Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic, along with new control modes and features that take the series to a "whole new level."

With Virtua Tennis 4 on NGP the team have embraced many of the features that the new hardware is capable of, including the high-definition graphics, Touch Panel control, network functionality, motion sensing system and the camera.

The game will utilize both the front and rear touch pads for playing, but classic controls will be available as well. The online modes will also integrate with the Vita's Party app, "where gamers can track their friends progress, chat, share stats and comments, and challenge people to online matches."