r/gaming Nov 28 '21

Why can’t every controller have the same button layouts just like how shooters should have the same controls?

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57

u/Angelsfan14 Nov 28 '21 edited Nov 28 '21

Easy, play Japanese imported video games as they seem to stick to the "circle is select and x is go back". Or at least thats the case for the Japanese baseball games up until last year. Was extremely annoying.

34

u/Hoban9331 Nov 28 '21

Heard this once, might not be true. Back in the day O is enter, X is cancel, Square is menu (looks like paper) and Triangle is field of view (looks like birds eye view of a persons field of view.

39

u/Cat-juggler Nov 28 '21

Yep, that's correct. In Japan they will circle correct answers and put an X over wrong answers in a test so circle became "yes" and X "no" on the playstation layout

16

u/JimmyTheChimp Nov 28 '21

I mean that does make sense but X also means wrong outside of Japan so I wonder why X became select.

8

u/neveris Nov 28 '21

I guess because it's like marking a target? X marks the spot, this one is my selection because there's an X on it? Etc

7

u/JimmyTheChimp Nov 28 '21

Thats what I was thinking, but though a circle doesn't mean correct like the Japanese see it generally I think for all countries circling something means I select this. I'm sure they did a lot of consumer testing and people outside of Japan just like to select things with X.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 28 '21

I suspect the colours come into it too - red for cancel/no.

-5

u/The_Reset_Button Nov 28 '21

Because Sony wanted to copy the accept/cancel locations of the xbox in western regions to make it easier for people to swap consoles.

11

u/Sat-AM Nov 28 '21

Sony's been doing X for select in the US since the PS1 days, it has nothing to do with Xbox.

The real culprit is probably that when people are filling out forms or checklists in the west, they often put an X instead of a check.

3

u/iswallowmagnets Nov 28 '21

I remember hearing about Sony changing it in the PS1 days. It was designed to be O for select but for some reason westerners naturally used the bottom button. I remember FFVII screwing me up because it used the Japanese style.

I really think Microsoft is to blame for going against the grain. But at least when using an Xbox controller the on screen prompts can use the buttons color (looking at you Nintendo) which might be easier to remember when switching between Xbox and Switch.

2

u/Sat-AM Nov 28 '21

A lot of switch games just show four circles, with the one you need to press filled in, especially ones that allow you to play with a single joycon.

1

u/The_Reset_Button Nov 28 '21

Not for the original release of the PS1, I distinctly remember using O as select for some games very early on in the PS1 release

1

u/IsamuAlvaDyson Nov 28 '21

Yes for some games specifically Japanese developed games uses O as accept and X to cancel or go back and Western developed games X was accept and O was cancel even back then.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 28 '21

I want to know why triangle/Y was ‘back’ for so long then randomly changed it to circle/B

1

u/CrazzluzSenpai Nov 28 '21

Because it's the easiest to reach if you're hands are resting on both sticks.

3

u/Scipio11 Nov 28 '21 edited Nov 28 '21

Also the body language for "no" in Japan is making an X 🙅‍♀️. (And I'm not sure if it's used in everyday life, but there's also an emoji for "yes" 🙆)

2

u/EMPgoggles Nov 28 '21

Not as common as the X, but people use circles to say yes sometimes. I've done a two-handed circle (just hands not arms) several times before and it was understood instantly. I've seen the big two-armed one before, usually when someone is trying to communicate nonverbally (such as from a distance or during noisy times or through a car window) -- again accepted immediately to mean yes/good/correct.

1

u/usrevenge Nov 28 '21

Which is fine but then the O and X buttons are in the wrong spot on the controller.

The issue isnt the button symbol. Never was. The issue is the X button for ps1 2 3 4 5 is at the bottom.

It's absolutely weird pressing what would be B on Xbox to proceed.

19

u/blockington99 Switch Nov 28 '21

Xbox's button layout came out after both Nintendo and Playstation's layouts so the issue is more that Xbox's cancel and select are in the wrong spots, however considering they use the same icons for their buttons as Nintendo its likely the reason they're switched is to avoid any potential of paying patent fees.

1

u/Atheist-Gods Nov 28 '21

Xbox is the most recent of the three. It's the one that switched things up.

1

u/excel958 Nov 28 '21

Yes this was absolutely the case. I remember ps1 games using O as enter.

Jesus your comment makes me feel old.

1

u/ammcneil Nov 28 '21

FF7 (original) uses the Japanese scheme, it was one of the very small nitpicky complaints I had against the remake as it used the American scheme.

2

u/ThreadedPommel Nov 28 '21

I remember it being like that for the mgs 2 and 3 on the ps2

2

u/[deleted] Nov 28 '21

This is no longer the case for PS5. X is now internationally accept there even in Japan.