What Do The PlayStation's Circle, X, Square, and Triangle Buttons Mean?

Teiyu Goto, a Sony engineer who had much freedom to design the original PlayStation as well as its controllers, actually explains that the PlayStations' iconic button shapes weren't just arbitrarily picked—they actually mean something.

[DasBunker]

genius

[UnSelf]

sony thinks everything through

Sony: "Good Bubbles, good boy"

Me: "*panting*"

[2FootYard]

You're truly there whipping boy.

[rumplstilts]

If you read the article you'd know that Sony was opposing the design but the wise designer stayed true and didn't let them change it.

[Shang-Long]

Gotta admit that's creative too the max. I never would have thought of that

[ChickeyCantor]

You are just not creative...LOL.

[Megaton]

http://i37.tinypic.com/syl0...

[UnSelf]

fkin brilliant lol

[Davoh]

1st console = xbox
2nd console = xbox 360
3rd console = xbox 360 Triangle?

[terrorofdeath]

OMF lol, nice find :)

[rCrysis]

in greek, delta IS a triangle.

Xbox Delta o__O

[Moentjers]

they shouldn't have used the [O]

O = red ring of... ?

[Foliage]

They obviously stole the green from the triangle, so they did copy every button.... :P

Unfortunately Red is a more common 360 colour, since... well... you know...

[Montoya]

Pyramids, Saturn, The Sun and the Cross.

[Mmmkay]

Jesus, Buddha, Shiva, Allah, Krisha, Satan and Frank

[Noble Spartan]

its a legendary controller, But yeah its gone old now and uncomfortable the triggers are awful trying to copy the superior xbox 360 pad even with the home button in the middle...

Heck there are some ridiculous trigger attachments on PS3 controllers lol

They need a redesign for next one Xbox 360 controller has won awards so comfortable and nice.

[No FanS Land]

what kind of awards did the 360 controller win?

Now I know that the dualshock won an emmy award once.

[moparful99]

Wow the dualshock 3 is the only controller design that has stood the test of time.. Its about as close to perfect as anyone has come.. Only advantage that the 360 controller has is slightly more comfort in the palms but it creates alot of sweat due to more contact... I love my ds3 and I am so pleased with its design...

[DasBunker]

crap double post.. ahem mhhhhh.. that snes controller looks awesome...

[tiamat5]

Cool. You learn something new everyday

[StarScream4Ever]

I've learn a new thing today! :D

[BornToKill]

THE MORE YOU KNOW...

[RageAgainstTheMShine]

ain't that the 6 button Genesis controller?

[samoon]

It's crazy lol, I like subconsciously for some reason knew that. Whenever I play a new game, I almost always know the basic controls. Like I always assume triangle is to change camera etc, X-jump,action etc.

Pure genius.

[B_Rian89]

and when browsing menus X usually means to proceed while O means go back. Yes & No

[theEnemy]

X - X
[] - Box
O - 360
Δ - LOL

[gamingisnotacrime]

lol

[Shikoro]

Hahaha, I'm laughing my ass off! :P

[PickAShoe]

lol good one xD

[yewles1]

"I now know who to pinpoint my anger towards for the fact that Sony still has the same basic controller design, a decade and a half later, when Microsoft's Xbox 360 controller is much more comfortable."

*takes hammer to 1up's servers*

[nix]

i swear dude... they just haaate anything about PS.

[Darkfocus]

and the contributor didn't even link the source correctly your supposed to have the gizmodo article as your "via"and the 1up article as your source. the gizmodo article doesn't even have the full interview.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

When Sony announced the PS3, they revealed it with a new, very different controller that looked a lot more comfortable. They got criticized to no end for the "batarang" controller and bowed to the pressure by changing back to the traditional design.

Here is that (almost) new design.
http://www.joystiq.com/2007...

[mac_sparrow]

yup, I remember seeing it and thinking "well, they wouldn't change the Dualshock for no good reason".

At the time I worked in a GAME store (urgh) and the amount of people who came in to mention how it looked awful, and said almost word for word the criticisms some sites had listed.

Funny how after about 5 seconds of talking and making them stop to think they agreed with me.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

I saw one report that an anonymous person who claimed to work at Sony said people really don't know what they were missing out on. The source said that not only was it way more comfortable that the Dualshock, but the sixaxis functionality worked better because the sensors were further apart.

Too bad people were more concerned about the looks of something you never look at, rather than giving it a chance.

[corneliuscrust]

That they can make a MUCH more comfortable controller than the DS. DS is just tradition. Too many people can't seem to let go and move on.

The DS design came from a controller that featured the DPAD location as your main movement center. Because there WERE no analog sticks on the original PS controller.

The analog sticks were thrown in where there was room, but the shape of the controller really didnt change. This means you have to lower your thumbs in order to reach the analog sticks. Until you really get used to it, this is an awkward way to hold your thumbs. It is not the most natural/ergonomic way to have your thumbs (especially when you have to hit triggers as well as use both sticks).

It's not that it is a bad design, it just evolved in such a way that the analog sticks were not placed with ergonomics in mind. They were a result of controller design evolution after the analog stick became a popular control method over the old DPAD style.

Sony knows this and tried to rectify it with the boomerang controller. And as unwieldy as it looks, I bet it really was quite comfortable. It was built from the ground up to take all the benefits of the high quality DS buttons and sticks, and house them in an ergonomically designed controller housing. I wish people didn't give them so much flak about that.

I wish sony would release two DS versions, one with the DPAD and left stick swapped and the right stick moved up a bit.

Nothing wrong with liking the current DS design, but it is important to remember how it came to be, and that was with function OVER form. They had to keep the same layout and shape (so as to not alienate their blooming userbase) but add some sticks to add the functionality that the n64 and saturn had in the analog sticks.

[raztad]

"DS is just tradition"

Yeah but it is a tradition supported by the quality of the controller itself.

You are making the DS3 to look bad for reasons I dont share. It feels comfortable, my hands are regular sized still I can use the controller w/o problems.

The only flaw in the DS3, IMO, is how loose the analog sticks are. They can be a pain when playing on high sensitivity maxed out.

[corneliuscrust]

It's not a "flaw," the controller design was built for DPAD use. (probably why it has one of the industry's very best DPADs) I'm not saying it doesn't work, or that if you like it you have weird hands or something.

I'm just saying the design was built on a controller that didn't have those sticks at all. They were grafted on. That's just history. That's how the controller evolved. The original design did not anticipate analog sticks at all, the buttons were places in the optimal position for your thumbs to comfortably reach them. The controller was designed well. When they had to add the analog sticks they did what they could, but it was definitely function over form. The most ergonomically logical places to add input mechanisms were already in use.

[Arnon]

Actually you're right. The original Dualshock controller never had analog sticks, and was ergonomically designed for the directional pad. Later on, the sticks were implemented, and caused the controller to not support the same ergonomic design that it was originally intended for.

[f789790]

I wish they would sell a controller with that design. Sure it looks stupid but it looks so nice to hold.

[STK026]

Funny how the guy made the X and O as a No and Yes, yet most games I play use the X as the Yes, and the O as the no. Well, most western games seem to do so. But I think MGS keeps the O as Yes and the X as No.

[gamingisnotacrime]

kept the O as the decision button

[inbetweener]

On Japanese PS3s, the default yes button is O, and cancel is X, even when scrolling through the XMB.

[PirosThe4th]

My ps3 is japanese! Even on all games will be O as yes as default. It's really strange because the games will say press X for OK but I have to press circle lol.

[Sarick]

When you see a target defeated it's X'ed out. A target that isn't is O k..

Like in Uncharted 2 the X over a user means they was killed or knocked out. I can see what X normal would mean no and O would mean yes but if you look at it from this perspective the buttons can still work.

Circle = Open, No, or Deny
Cross = Closed, Yes, or Confirm

[colonel179]

In Japan the X and O are used backwards. They Accept with O and cancel with X

[ShadowJetX]

I got really confused when I started up it up for the first time... Maybe Sons of Liberty too, but I've yet to play that one yeah.

[saint_john_paul_ii]

that was immediately changed with MGS4 though. i kinda missed that configuration.

i always get confused when im at the menu screen. it just keeps reminding me of previous MGS games.

[mac_sparrow]

One of the changes I didn't agree with, it was completely unnecessary.
Apart from disappointment at the lack of codec calls and this change MGS4 was flawless.

[galgor]

Ryan Payton is to blame for that change ¬_¬

[PS3Freak]

i think a lot of games on PS2 had it set up like that.

[Azerach]

Cant remember where i heard this but its because the japanese hands are smaller and the thumb rests on the O usually while people in the west have their thumb naturally on the X... go figure.

[ChickeyCantor]

Just like how i used to remember A for Accept and B for Back/cancel.
Most JRPG's back than used A as their primary.( SNES )

[Dsnyder]

"It's pretty nice that I now know who to pinpoint my anger towards for the fact that Sony still has the same basic controller design, a decade and a half later, when Microsoft's Xbox 360 controller is much more comfortable."

PS3 controllers are far more comfotable then 360 controllers. Dont even get me started on how many lamps a wiimote has broken but seriously the 360 controllers analongs are in highly unconfortable places for thumbs. The controller itself is way to large and the glossy buttons become slippery when your hands sweat. Fuck the gaming journalist and his deformed hands. 360 fanboys who say thier controller is confortable are obviously in denial.

[-Alpha]

"360 fanboys who say thier controller is confortable are obviously in denial."

Because clearly people all have the same hands you do, anyone with different hands is deformed, and preference is not an option.

How small are your hands btw? I dont get why people say its "too large".

As for the thumb placement, the issue some have with the PS3 analog sticks is that their thumbs hit each other. For me it doesn't happen but I know of many that it happens to.

The PS3 controller IS smaller. Personally I prefer extra room than not enough. I don't think the 360 controller is THAT big for you to not reach around the controller but the PS3 controller can be small enough for people not to have enough room and get cramps. I've never heard anyone complain that they can't function the 360 controller because it is too big, or do yours?

[huzzaahh]

My only complaint with the 360 controller is the absolutely terrible d-pad. Other than that, it's fine.

In the end, they're both just controllers. They're functional, and that's all anyone should care about. If a controller isn't comfortable and your hands start to hurt, take a break from playing games. That is probably the smart decision.

[mac_sparrow]

Interesting post Alpha.

The thumbs hitting each other isn't an issue if you place the tip of your thumbs on the analogue stick, with your thumbs arched. This is the way it was designed to be used as it allows more control over actions as your digits are flexed.

In regard to the small hands comment, my fiancé is now a gamer and she has small hands. She had to learn to use the DS3 slightly differently to normal. Give her a 360 pad and it'd be camera to the sky time.

Good job with showing Dsnyder to be quite biased in this regard though.

For the record I prefer dualshock but can easily use a 360 pad.

[CobraKai]

I feel they both have their strengths. I like the Dualshock for action games like GOW or Batman AA and fighting games. But prefer to play shooters using the 360.

[peeps]

"360 fanboys who say thier controller is confortable are obviously in denial. "

oh the irony

[ChickeyCantor]

" 360 controllers analongs are in highly unconfortable places for thumbs."
Disagree, i use a 360 controller for my pc and they feel comfortable.
I like it more than my PS3 controllers.
To each his own.
( yes D-pad is MEH)

[Microsoft_Spokesman]

Imagine if we had the d-pad of the controller in the image. Yuck.

[Katana Yamato]

Interesting. I really like the symbols then the old alphabetical buttons (and i'm glad he spaz out on upper management about NOT making it look like the SNES controller).

Though the person who said the Xbox 360 controller is more confortable is an idiot. That damn controller is too damn bulky, the D-pad sucks, i hate the position of the analog stick and the buttons aren't that great. Then again it all comes down to personal preference.

PS Controller Forever though!

[BannedForNineYears]

I thought they were just shapes with no meaning. :D

[Montoya]

All has meaning.

[BannedForNineYears]

What about life? ~_~

[skip2mylou]

play persona 3 for that answer :D

[SOAD]

What a thoughtful question harrykid. Oh well, back to watching pr0n.

[BannedForNineYears]

I lold.

[gamingisnotacrime]

"It's pretty nice that I now know who to pinpoint my anger towards for the fact that Sony still has the same basic controller design, a decade and a half later, when Microsoft's Xbox 360 controller is much more comfortable. "

What a loser. The PS one controller was a revolutionary design and pretty much became the standard controller as seen in PCs 3rd party controllers.
The DS3, unlike the 360's controller, is a fully functional controller with D-Pad and all, which happen to be pretty important. Also the DS3 is perfect for ALL GENRES. I play my FPS with it, no prob, RPGs, Action, Heavy Rain.
Love that DS3, it is as great as ever.

[IHateYouFanboys]

cool little story, but i couldnt care less about what is on each button. for all i care they could be labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4. i actually wish all hardware developers would form a standard for button naming, that way multi-platform games controls would map across easier for instructions etc.

having grown up using every controller since the atari 2600 single button joystick, the 360s controller is easily the most ergonomic and best to date. everything about it is perfect EXCEPT for the dpad. the analogues have great resistance and feel, especially with the concave tops. the triggers are perfect, and the face buttons are the right shape and feel. the actual shape of the controller fits your hands perfectly.

the PS3 controller could be *nearly* as good with 3 changes.
- move the left analogue stick to the dpads position and vice versa.
- make proper triggers
- change the analogue sticks to have more resistance, theyre too loose atm, and put concave tops on them. convex just leads to constantly having to reposition your fingers on them.

[gamingisnotacrime]

- move the left analogue stick to the dpads position and vice versa.

- change the analogue sticks to have more resistance, theyre too loose atm, and put concave tops on them. convex just leads to constantly having to reposition your fingers on them.

Both suggestions are wrong. The 360 layout is their thing, no need for that on PS3.
Convex tops allow for more grip all around without the need to have the thumb on top of the analog

If you prefer the 360 controller, goo. but dont expect that the rest of us have to broke the almost perfect design on the PS controller

[Microsoft_Spokesman]

I have to disagree with you, my man. I think the positions of the analog sticks are perfect and as for the concave vs. convex deal, I actually removed the convex analog sticks off my PS2 controller and put them on my 360 controller; it feels as though you can aim faster. However, these are all my opinions and you may have yours.

[PirosThe4th]

I did the exact same thing on my 360 controller.

[sayonara89]

"- move the left analogue stick to the dpads position and vice versa.
- make proper triggers
- change the analogue sticks to have more resistance"

NO, YES and NO. That's why I prefer PS3 controller.

[shadow2797]

The bumper buttons on the 360 controller aren't that great. Sometimes in games, you have to have a finger on the bumber and trigger at the same time(R1 & R2), this works fine on 360. But most of the time you just move your index finger between the two to press either, this doesn't work so well. Because the controller is trying so hard to be ergonomic, I've found that they're not as easy to reach as they should be.

I have no trouble holding either controller. I wish the DS3 had better triggers, and I wish they had more resistance in the analog sticks. I wish the 360 had a better D-pad, shoulder buttons, and analog buttons (no pressure sensitivity? Really?).

At the end of the day, I can use either with ease. I give a slight edge to the 360 controller simply for the form factor and sticks, but both are great controllers.

[huzzaahh]

So essentially, you just want the PS3 controller to be a 360 controller...

[IHateYouFanboys]

no, im just pointing out ways it could be improved.

do i think the PS3 would be better with a 360 controller? for sure. but thats not what im saying. im just pointing out some flaws in the PS3 controller and what they should do to fix them if they are going to keep using the same 15 year old design.

[Tito08]

For some reason that 15 year old design is still around, is because it is most ppl's favorite controller, I agree about the triggers, they should be at least like the PS2, not like 360's, but other than that, the controller is fine, no more changes!!!!!!!!

I used to play games from the old days, but everytime I've being asked to press certain alphabetical button I had to look at the button to press it, with a dualshock I already knew what button to press, maybe that's me since I'm more familiar with the dualshock, but remembering the dualshock buttons takes less time to learn than alphabetics!!!!!!!!

[skrug]

i hate the bumpers(L1 L2) on the 360 controller,

also hate the feel of the face buttons

[shadow2797]

Ever since Sony released the original DualShock on the Playstation, it's become the de facto layout for console controllers. Even the Wii has a mimic version in the Classic Controller.

That says a lot about the foresight and genius of the engineers in the early days of PlayStation. The symbols are great for distinguishing Sony's brand from others, thus making finding the right button much easier (though some of my Xbox friends have a lot of trouble with "X").

[Microsoft_Spokesman]

I think the dualshock if the perfect design. Nice feel and perfect for all games.

[SOAD]

I think Sony will make a slight alteration to the dualshock next gen. since shooters are really popular I think Sony will make the L2/R2 more like triggers and the analogs will be depressed on the surface.

[Mr Tretton]

" It's pretty nice that I now know who to pinpoint my anger towards for the fact that Sony still has the same basic controller design, a decade and a half later, when Microsoft's Xbox 360 controller is much more comfortable."

Pfff.

And a very douchey way to end an article.

[writersblock]

I always wondered why some games have o as ok and x as no
Like if you play some japanese games at the menu you press o to accept and x to go back. Which seemed odd, since most games use X as the "positive" button and o as the negative because of where they are placed on the controller

[huzzaahh]

Final Fantasy VII ftw.

[skrug]

All games in Japan uses O = Yes X= No

which makes sense to me lol

"I dont want that *crosses out item*"
"I want that *circles the item*"

[TheLastGuardian]

They mean your going to have the time of your life. I've pressed those buttons millions of times in my life.

[All_4_One]

Ok, I think O and X for yes and no makes sense, but what does a green triangle that represents a head, and a pink square that represents a piece of paper have to do with anything? Am I missing something?

[Azerach]

"head" for first person view, "paper" for entering menu... Although these have changed since then with triangle being menu on XMB.

[skrug]

It makes sense to me the O for yes X for no

You have a list of items:
"I dont want that *crosses out item*"
"I want that *circles the item*"

[C L O U D]

Thinking about it now pressing Triangle really does represent viewpoint in Metal Gear Solid games.

[duplissi]

i always liked the fact that the dualshock face buttons werent alpha numeric like all other controllers out there. it helped establish a more unique brand, or attitude.

[Claudinho69]

it means people should get a life, cause it dont mean anythin

[RankFTW]

Well that's where you're wrong, if you read the article you would know that they do mean something.

[P_Bomb]

Classy how Jason Chen couldn't simply report the news, but felt obligated to make a fanboy comment at the end of the article re. his preference for the XBox controller and anger (?!) towards Teiyu Goto's work. This is why videogame journalism is a joke. The inmates are running the asylum.

[BIGWILLDX]

playstation rules

[Tito08]

The US market easely likes to complain at anything, they don't say too much sh!t about xbox because it's Microsoft, since Sony is their main competitor, the supposed "Journalists" from the "media" wants to take shots at everything Sony does, those ppl doesn't do research, all they do is complain and complain and tell Sony what they should do, and when Sony does something right, those "Journalists" find ways to downgrade 'em, it's not too hard to figure out, this supposed article was about the button symbols, the meaning of each button, not about how comfortable the controller was, and at the end he immediately mentioned how comfortable the 360 controller is, useless loser!!!!!!

[Dekonega]

O = Open
X = eXit
Δ = Point
[] = Set

Or this is what I've always thought. I honestly don't actually know. :)

I find it weird that X is used to select and O for closing things in American/European games.

[Sheddi]

well, i see it this way
X O Δ [] are very basic shapes that u can relate to VERY easy...well infact ever since u were small.
and the colors on them makes it even easier.
I just think its because its easier to relate to shapes and colors.

[Zuhk]

I mean, they dont have an A, B, Y, and Z in japan or china. but everyone has those shapes

[Dozer]

the PS controller is the best. I like the flat buttons and convex analog sticks. Also i like the symmetrical position of the analog sticks. These are the reasons i prefer the Dual Shock to the 360 pad. When i play the 360 for extended periods of time ,like while playing ME2, i start getting hand cramps because i keep playing it like its a dual shock. However, as some have said this is purely preferential.

[girlwithturn]

DualShock - best joystick of all time.

[deividpaulo]

X, square and Circle = X BOX 360º

hahahahaha...

This is just another demonstration of Microsoft's plagiarism...

[Pillville]

I always assumed they used shapes so that there were no translation issues using Alphabet characters.

[Dellis]

Illuminati on the PS3 controls confirmed

[JJFNIGHTS80]

Very interesting article and like it. At least SONY have a meaning for their hardware

[kesvalk]

these are the same shapes that appear in kamek magic...

i was aways puzzled by this...

[jdigitalseven]

How is the controller not comfortable? The original Xbox controller was probably the worst controller ever, they had no way to go but up starting with that. The PS controllers were comfortable from the start with two symmetrical sticks added later...not one up and one level with a dpad. Both big and small hands can grip a DS3 with ease.

[Thoreau]

had to add that the 360 controller is much more comfortable.....the article had nothing to do with the 360 and gaming wise (prepped for disagrees) i love the triggers and analog sticks but the face buttons and direction pad is D@MN atrocious......i have big haves for and long arms, i can deal with both controllers...

[RandomGamer]

FFS I'm sick of people saying the 360 controller is more comfortable.Are they all a bunch of pussies or something,because whether I'm playing with my PS3 controller or my 360 controller,I honestly don't notice a big difference.Defiantly nothing worthy of all the bitching people have done over the years.

[Bits-N-Kibbles]

We need more posts like this. Something very interesting that I didn't know. Cool concept for shapes and colors.

[MaximusPrime]

i knew this during PS1 days. nice to be reminded and that the shapes remain.

[The_Devil_Hunter]

Why, it's, it's, it's brilliant!!

[DarthBigE]

the DS3 is the best controller ever. Beats all others on every level