Support NeoGAF

[vitaflo]

So I was thinking about how stupid the button labeling on the Playstation controllers is, because of how many times I've seen people have to look down when told to press a specific button. Lets face it, Square, Triangle, Circle and X take a bit more practice to remember where they are than the A-B-C of the Genesis controller for example.

Which made me think, what was Nintendo thinking when they made the button order on the Famicom B-A instead of A-B? Wouldn't it have made more sense to people if they were in the right order instead of reversed?

At first I thought perhaps it was because Japanese is read right to left, and it was just a holdover, but I belive that's only when Japanese is written vertically. Horizontally Japanese is read left to right, which is the layout of the buttons, and we're talking about Roman characters anyway, so it's not like that logic applies.

So does anyone know (or have any theories) why they decided to label them backwards like this? I'd be curious to find the answer, because it doesn't make a lot of sense. Of course it doesn't much matter, because we're stuck with this backwards layout since they didn't get it right the first time, but I'm interested regardless.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Nintendo is backwards in just about everything they do, why should their controllers be any different?

 

[Dachande]

Possibly because the button you use most on that kind of layout is the one on the far-right on the controller (C, for example, on the Megadrive), and so they decided to label that primary button A.

Which sort of does make sense, but still confuses me at times when I'm told to press A and I hit B instead.

 

[elostyle]

Cause your right hand come from the right. First button = A, second button = B.

 

[goomba]

Its only backwards when compared to other systems

Id guess its because the primary button "A" is on the edge of the controller just as the DPAD is on the far left side of the controller. Symmetry and all.

 

[monkeyrun]

A is usually the primary button, B is usually the secondary button.

Most of the time A is at the center of the thumb, while B is at the tip or side.

It's just easier this way or it could be I am used to it this way.

 

[sportzhead]

I believe the Japanese read from right to left? Therefore B-A reads A-B

 

[miyuru]

Regarding Nintendo systems, I believe B has always been primary, and A secondary, except with the GameCube. For example, you always press A to go backwards in menus, or to twirl-jump in SMW. You press B to scroll forward in menus and jump normally, etc.

 

[CO_Andy]

I hate Microsoft for not adopting the Nintendo way.

 

[Tony HoTT]

Don't the Japanese read from right to left?

They better not be reading English from right to left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

That's wrong!

 

[miyuru]

It should be standard IMO. Right now I'm playing through MGS2 for the first time (scored a slim PS2 for $100 CDN!) and fuck me if the controls aren't fucked up. Nintendo's "A" is now the primary, and "Y" is secondary if you know what I mean.

Fucking SO annoying.

 

[vitaflo]

I believe the Japanese read from right to left? Therefore B-A reads A-B

You should try reading the original post. Japanese read horizontal text from left to right.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Regarding Nintendo systems, I believe B has always been primary, and A secondary, except with the GameCube. For example, you always press A to go backwards in menus, or to twirl-jump in SMW. You press B to scroll forward in menus and jump normally, etc.

Hmm? I can think of plenty of examples of where B is cancel and A is accept. B was usually attack when A was jump, but jumping was always more primary of an action than the attacks.

 

[Pudding Tame]

Well, you need to remember. The NES came out in the 80's. What was popular in the 80's? Why, the hit NBC action series The A-Team. Starring Mr. T as B.A. Barracas.

Believe!

 

[StrikerObi]

Hmm? I can think of plenty of examples of where B is cancel and A is accept. B was usually attack when A was jump, but jumping was always more primary of an action than the attacks.

Until Squaresoft, things were working properly on the Playstation too.

Circle was always confirm and Cross (X) was always deny. Look at every Metal Gear Solid game for an example. In Japan (and in America too really), a circle means confirm and an X means deny. Then Squaresoft came along and decided to swap them for some arbitrary reason and now nothing makes sense because half the games out there have confirm set to X and deny set to Circle or Triangle.

Circle is in the same location as A on an SNES controller, and Cross is in the same location as B. A and B were almost unilaterally confirm and deny back on the SNES.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Until Squaresoft, things were working properly on the Playstation too.

Circle was always confirm and Cross (X) was always deny. Look at every Metal Gear Solid game for an example. In Japan (and in America too really), a circle means confirm and an X means deny. Then Squaresoft came along and decided to swap them for some arbitrary reason and now nothing makes sense because half the games out there have confirm set to X and deny set to Circle or Triangle.

Circle is in the same location as A on an SNES controller, and Cross is in the same location as B. A and B were almost unilaterally confirm and deny back on the SNES.

Early Square games used Circle to confirm, and the Japanese releases use Circle too. Try again.

 

[drohne]

or possibly because they're japanese and the order of the roman alphabet just wasn't that meaningful to them -- western designers never would've considered a layout in which 'b' is to the left of 'a'.

 

[golduck342]

I still have not gotten used to it on DS, I get X and Y mixed up. Same thing used to happen to me with Xbox, but I got used to the configuration thanks to Halo.

 

[Cheesemeister]

This very same line of reasoning compelled me to switch around the buttons on one of my DC controllers, which involves no small amount of filing plastic nubs at the base of the buttons. I haven't seen the inside of a 360 controller yet to see if that'll be necessary... Of course, all the 360 software will still indicate the reverse button layout.

As for the PlayStation problem, I believe this arose in FFVIII, which had confirm on X and cancel on O, a reversal from FFVII.

 

[drohne]

in an indirect way, i think nintendo's reverse-alphabetical button naming is responsible for playstation's perplexing symbolic button naming -- they couldn't adopt nintendo's arbitrary and counterintuitive tradition, but this tradition was so established that they couldn't just set the letters right: controllers like dreamcast and xbox that use a/b and x/y in alphabetical order mess with my head. nintendo's reversal survives in the playstation layout, however: the "one-sided" circle corresponds to a, the "two-sided" x corresponds to b, the triangle corresponds to x, and the square corresponds to y.

 

[vitaflo]

or possibly because they're japanese and the order of the roman alphabet just wasn't that meaningful to them -- western designers never would've considered a layout in which 'b' is to the left of 'a'.

I guess that begs the question, why even use letters at all? Why not use numbers like the Master System did?

Never understood the letter naming of the controller either, especially once diamond button shapes came out. To me the most natural way to label a diamond layout is 1-2-3-4 with 1 at the top, and moving clockwise for the rest. It would take 10 seconds to learn and would be impossible to forget which button was which.

 

[Cheesemeister]

nintendo's reversal survives in the playstation layout, however: the "one-sided" circle corresponds to a, the "two-sided" x corresponds to b, the triangle corresponds to x, and the square corresponds to y.

This, of course, is no coincidence given the Super NES CD-ROM debacle. However, I always wished Sony would've just used the same button names if it's going to rip off the rest of the controller.

 

[The Main Event]

or possibly because they're japanese and the order of the roman alphabet just wasn't that meaningful to them -- western designers never would've considered a layout in which 'b' is to the left of 'a'.

...unless of course, your name is Mr. Jaguar's controller designer.

 

[drohne]

haha. i didn't know the jaguar controller was set up that way. but of course that controller was post-nes, and anyway the designer of the jag con clearly wasn't sane. :lol

 

[monkeyrun]

Well, you need to remember. The NES came out in the 80's. What was popular in the 80's? Why, the hit NBC action series The A-Team. Starring Mr. T as B.A. Barracas.

Believe!

best explanation yet. Believe :lol