FIFA 12 (titled FIFA Soccer 12 in North America) is a video game developed by and published by worldwide under the label. It was released in September 2011 on consoles for , , and ; on handhelds for , , , and ; and on computers for and . A port of the game entitled FIFA Football (FIFA Soccer in North America) was released as a launch title for the .
David Rutter, the line producer for FIFA 12, promised "a revolutionary year for FIFA ... especially in the gameplay department."
In the United Kingdom, an "Ultimate Edition" of the game was available at and stores. It included four monthly Ultimate Team gold packs, with each pack containing 12 items, including players, contracts, stadiums, managers, staff, fitness, healing, footballs, kits and badges. Each pack contains one rare item, such as enhanced player attributes, longer contracts and the most coveted players. On 22 June 2011, EA Sports announced that the version of FIFA 12 will have the same engine, features, and competitions as the and versions.
Gameplay
Three major gameplay changes have been implemented in FIFA 12; these are the Impact Engine, Tactical Defending, and Precision Dribbling.
In development for several years, the Impact Engine improves collision variety, accuracy, and momentum preservation. A new advanced procedural animation system is used along with collision physics to produce different results depending on the players and physical forces involved. This affects all players, so even those off the ball may have collisions. The Impact Engine has been cited as a game changer, making FIFA 12 less structured and synthetic than its predecessors, and has been described by producer David Rutter as the biggest technological change to the series since the transition to the current generation of consoles. The Impact Engine also directly affects injuries sustained by players during a match.
The new Tactical Defending system aims to change the approach to defending by placing equal importance on positioning, intercepting passes and tackling. When defending there will be more of an emphasis on slowing attackers down and containing them, and pressuring them into making mistakes. This is intended to be a more manual form of defending, requiring greater timing and precision when compared to the defensive "press" system used in previous FIFA games. The old system, now dubbed "legacy defending", where a button press causes an AI player to home in on the player in possession of the ball, can still be used offline, and in online friendlies and custom unranked matches
