FIFA 12 kicking off September 27

EA Sports has already announced when its American football season will kick off, attaching an August 30 release date to Madden NFL 12. Now, the publisher has also scheduled the first touch for football of the international sort, saying today that FIFA Soccer 12 will arrive in North America for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii, 3DS, iOS, and PC on September 27. The game's worldwide release will follow on September 30.

For this year's installment, EA Sports emphasized that it will be delivering an identical gaming experience on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. This promise is particularly meaningful for PC gamers, with EA Sports noting that FIFA 12 on desktop platforms will this year include the series' Player Impact Engine. This inclusion will offer PC gamers improved player physics and other technical features found in the console versions.

As for new features impacting all three versions, EA Sports has revisited dribbling mechanics in an effort to deliver a more realistic touch on the ball. Defense has likewise been tweaked, with a greater emphasis being placed on position play and ball interception. The publisher is also introducing the EA Sports Football Club feature, a free service that offers news and updates on the real-world sport.

EA Sports also said that it has updated the game's Career mode. With FIFA 12, players will be able to live out storylines taken from real-world events. Career mode also boasts more than 500 officially licensed clubs.

See the video below for more on FIFA 12's Player Impact Engine.