Werknows the four symbols on the controller. These were already on the buttons on the PS1 and that hasn't changed fundamentally with the PS5 and the DualSense. But do you actually know what the cross, circle, triangle and square are all about? We'll tell you what they really mean.
PlayStation controller: The colored symbols were intended to represent very specific things
That's what it's about:Teiyu Goto was responsible for the concept of the very first PlayStation and revealed in an interview a while ago what exactly he had in mind for the four symbols on the controller. They are not just a fun, colorful detail or a reflection of brand identity.
"Other game companies at this time assigned letters of the alphabet or colors to the buttons. We wanted something easy to remember and that's why we chose symbols or characters.
I came up with the triangle-circle-x-square combination right after that. I gave each symbol a meaning and a color."
These are the meanings behind it:In the same interview, Teiyu Goto explains exactly what his idea was:
- Thetriangleis intended to represent a perspective or point of view. It also represents a head or direction, as it can be viewed as a type of arrow.
- Thesquarerepresents a sheet of paper, it represents menus or documents.
- TheKreisand thatXstand for “yes” and “no”.
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As far as the colors are concerned, they can no longer be found on all PlayStation controllers. Depending on which generation and edition it is, the symbols can simply be monochrome.
Curious detail:Outside Japan, the meanings of the X and O buttons were swapped. Possibly because in Japan a circle is seen as a confirmation or "yes" and the cross means exactly the opposite. In the USA or Europe, however, a cross tends to be seen as more of an agreement if, for example, we tick something.
What did you think the four symbols on PlayStation controllers mean?
