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This is why I always have to think 5 seconds before pressing the X button (i.imgur.com)

submitted ago by Periplaneta

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[–]ninjembro 1278 points1279 points ago

Nice touch in that each controller is also placed in the respective position of its own X button

[–]trampus1 109 points110 points ago*

Just get one of these

Just realized, X is always blue.

[–]PretzelFucker 26 points27 points ago

Actually it's gray on the GameCube controller, the photo is fucked.

[–]SirDerpingtonThe3rd 2 points3 points ago

Only on the Euro/JP SNES controller. The US had purple-y gray-ish blue-ish buttons.

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    [–]fubadubdub 201 points202 points ago

    Can't help but wonder if it's original for each console to move the X button or extremely unoriginal for using X.

    [–]necrosxiaoban 151 points152 points ago

    When you think about it, the position of the A, B, X and Y buttons didn't significantly change between the SNES and Gamecube, they just tilted around a bit.

    [–]JimmyDThing 78 points79 points ago

    Except that if you go to press X where it used to be, you hit Y.

    Even though NES was first... for some reason it frustrates the fuck out of me if I try to use the classic controller for Wii... it seems backwards even though it's really the original.

    [–]oh_noes 70 points71 points ago

    I actually got fed up with that, due to some specific games (I think starfox in particular had a weird button placement because of the "switched" A and B buttons). I cracked my controller open, cut the traces on the buttons, and rewired them to my preferred location. I added a little switch so I could go back to the original configuration if needed, but the swapped buttons work way better now.

    [–][deleted] 125 points126 points ago

    then you realise you can manually change it in game

    (which you can btw)

    [–]Pool_Shark 3 points4 points ago

    Not every game. I was playing Majora's Mask with the classic controller and was disappointing to find there was no way to change the controls! Every time I want to use my sword I wend up rolling, back flipping, or absolutely nothing.

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      [–]teemarsh422 20 points21 points ago

      I'm not alone in this crazy world after all...

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        [–]AHHHmu5hr00m 12 points13 points ago

        I see what you're saying, but its still rotated to a different position. :/

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          [–]yhnell 79 points80 points ago

          i always thought the xbox positioned their buttons as they do to correspond to the x-axis, y-axis, a and b for other ends of the alphabet, colours to represent go (green) and stop/back (red), and yellow and blue to complete the primary colours

          [–]RopeBunny 8 points9 points ago

          I attributed it to the A is go B is back idea. Sony is pretty good at adapting to local customs in this regard, as the Japanese version of most video games "O" is accept and "X" is back, which is the norm over there. Consider that the accept and decline would then have been in the same spot for the playstation and nintendo consoles.

          Regardless, I still am thrown off transferring from a 360 controller to my DSi.

          [–]deityofanime 2 points3 points ago

          "O" is accept and "X" is back, which is the norm over there

          I've always thought that would make more sense over here as well, I have never understood why they changed it. I'm from England though, maybe you guys just use X differently.

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            [–]nomogoodnames 10 points11 points ago

            What in the world are the triangle, square and circle buttons for? It's so damn weird how we can just say "Press circle" to someone with experience and they know what you mean. Imagine being someone with no clue how to play, and you're in a shooter, with your experienced friend saying "Press circle! NO circle! Circle! Awww now you're dead you idiot! Why didn't you press circle??"

            [–]wmil 35 points36 points ago

            From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Controller :

            In an interview with Teiyu Goto, designer of the original Playstation Controller, he explains what the symbols mean. The circle and x represent yes and no respectively, the triangle symbolizes a point of view and the square is equated to a sheet of paper there to be used to access menus.

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                [–]saffir 13 points14 points ago

                Also, the usage of X changes on the Playstation depending on which region you're in.

                In the US, it's used for "Accept" or "Confirm". In Japan, it's used for "Cancel"

                I know this because I unfortunately bought my PSP in Japan (unfortunate that I bought a PSP at all, not that I bought it in Japan)

                [–]cryo 2 points3 points ago

                Depends on the game, though, not the hardware.

                [–]saffir 2 points3 points ago

                That is true, but the PSP still has the underlying dashboard, which means I use X for "Cancel" in the menus but then switch to X for "Confirm" in the games

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                    [–]Thunderkleize 500 points501 points ago*

                    On my controller, the x never changes position.

                    EDIT: And even if it did, it wouldn't matter.

                    [–]gratock 171 points172 points ago

                    he speaks the truth, even on an azerty x stays the same

                    [–]heh_wut 76 points77 points ago

                    WOAH... which console is this for?!

                    [–]augenleet 118 points119 points ago

                    Ordinateur 3

                    [–]chillyhellion 35 points36 points ago

                    I'm trying to learn French this year. This is literally the first word I learned when I started. It makes me ridiculously happy to see it unexpectedly.

                    [–][deleted] 11 points12 points ago

                    Non! C'est le iPhone 3!

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                      [–]nicotoroboto 9 points10 points ago

                      Jaguar

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                        [–]10BIT 123 points124 points ago

                        also on a colemak keyboard.

                        [–]Bloq 74 points75 points ago

                        I don't like this layout. It's too different!

                        [–]SolKool 95 points96 points ago

                        That's keycist.

                        [–][deleted] 19 points20 points ago

                        Shut yo mouth qwerty!

                        [–]goatworship 9 points10 points ago

                        No dogs or Azertys

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                              [–]teebop 66 points67 points ago

                              But not on Dvorak.

                              [–]BobLeBuilDerp 21 points22 points ago

                              Took way too long to find the x.

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                                    [–]elj0h0 61 points62 points ago

                                    I believe this is done to make it harder to transition to a different system, strengthening brand loyalty.

                                    [–]Amablue 104 points105 points ago

                                    I don't think that's it at all.

                                    For the SNES, they wanted A and B to be the default OK/Cancel buttons. Japanese games usually put the confirm button on A, which is on the right. Western gamers prefer the confirm button to be on the bottom, which make B usually the confirm button for us. The placement of X and Y simply follows the right-to-left placement of A and B. The GC controller follows the same pattern as the SNES, but it's just morphed in a weird way to make the A button central.

                                    For the PS controllers, rather than use letters they used symbols. O and X are what they decided to use for OK/Cancel, and again the OK is on the right and cancel is on the bottom. This makes it weirder for western games, because the X, is now the OK button in many games.

                                    The XBox follows what makes sense to western gamers. The big green A button is at the bottom, and the bright red B button is on the right, so OK/Cancel finally make sense. Like the SNES controller, the X and Y buttons just follow the pattern of the letters below it.

                                    They each had a reason for the layout they chose, its just coincidence that the X button ended up in different places on each controller.

                                    [–]HollowNinja 8 points9 points ago

                                    I don't think it's really Japanese/Western here. It's more Nintendo/Sega. Sega's older consoles used a layout like the Xbox, but with an added column for C and Z on the right. C was usually an alternate confirm button in games. The original Xbox controller (the Duke) was based off the Dreamcast controller design, and it's easy to see how the evolution to the 360 controller took place if you look at some pictures.

                                    Sony is the only outlier here. They stuck to the Nintendo layout in Japan, and while at first they kept the Nintendo layout in the West, they changed to "X to confirm, triangle to cancel" at some point, and eventually settled upon the Sega layout around the PS3's launch. I imagine the fact that the Genesis sold better than the SNES in America and Europe had something to do with it (look it up; the SNES took the lead only after the Genesis had been phased out). Irritatingly, this means Western PS gamers have to deal with three different layouts depending on which game they're playing at the time.

                                    [–]jcaliff 5 points6 points ago

                                    I have both a Japanese and US PS2, and have to remember that on the Japanese system X is cancel and O is accept where X is accept on the US system. I always thought the Japanese system of O (maru) being positive and X (badtz) being a negative character was the reason they chose those symbols.

                                    Maru/badtz dichotomy is very common in Japan from children's games to TV game shows. There's even a Sanrio character named Bad Badtz Maru. You use circles instead of check marks to indicate correct answers on student work and either checks or xs to show incorrect answers. Noted from experience: I lived in Japan for three years teaching English.

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                                        [–][deleted] ago

                                        [deleted]

                                        [–]astonish 16 points17 points ago

                                        No, it's this way for legal reasons. Although its completely obvious they all share a common heritage, it is one less thing the companies can all sue each other over.

                                        Another similar case is that of the 8-way directional pad. Nintendo holds the rights (patatent, whatever it is...) to the 8-way cross shaped directional pad (think original NES controller). This is reason that the Xbox direction pad is that terrible round shape (i.e. no longer a cross) and the Dpad on the Playstation systems are actually 4 individual buttons that do not meet.

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                                          [–]Toukakoukan 26 points27 points ago

                                          Nobody else that replied seems to get that you're referring to the placement of the photos in the image. But yes, you're right, it's the little things!

                                          [–]albequirky 29 points30 points ago

                                          I think most people got it. They just didn't feel the need to point it out again.

                                          [–]SameThingHappened2Me 30 points31 points ago

                                          Agreed. "Nobody understands your comment but me. The reason it is the most up-voted is a complete mystery."

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                                              [–]Deimorz 166 points167 points ago*

                                              I swear that the Pandora designers did this on purpose for maximum confusion: http://i.imgur.com/1Lbhp.jpg

                                              "What's some layout nobody's ever used before? Yeah, let's do that then."

                                              [–]Megagun 41 points42 points ago

                                              The Pandora has that seemingly odd layout because it was made by people from the GP2x/GP32 community. The GP2x had the exact same button layout. Having a different button layout on the Pandora would mean that porting games from the GP2x to the Pandora would be slightly annoying, as text would need to be rewritten and keys would have to be remapped. I'm not sure if that was the exact reason why they chose the GP2x-styled layout, but at least it sounds plausible.

                                              [–]image-fixer 78 points79 points ago

                                              At time of posting, your comment contains a link to a Wikipedia image page. Here is the RES-friendly version: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/GP2X_01.JPG

                                              I'm a bot. [Feedback]

                                              [–]zhylo 56 points57 points ago

                                              We hardly even have to try anymore, we have bots that do half the work on reddit nowadays.

                                              [–]MasonJoody 63 points64 points ago

                                              These bots came into OUR land and took OUR jobs!

                                              [–]SkaveRat 27 points28 points ago

                                              Dateekajeeeebs!

                                              [–]e_m_u 9 points10 points ago

                                              GET BACK ON THE PILE!

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                                                [–]123not-it 2 points3 points ago

                                                I'm a bot. [Feedback]

                                                This is how it should be not

                                                This comment was posted by an automatic bot [FAQ] [Feedback] [Did I get something wrong?] [Made by reddituser123] [Donate!]

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                                                  [–]Deimorz 10 points11 points ago

                                                  That makes sense, but any idea why the GP2x chose that layout in the first place?

                                                  [–]ferna182 14 points15 points ago

                                                  could there be a really crazy patent for button layout? i wouldn't be surprised, to be honest...

                                                  I mean nintendo holds a patent for the + shape on the D-pad...

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                                                      [–]OmegaVesko 25 points26 points ago

                                                      How have I never heard of this device?

                                                      http://pandorawiki.org/Pandora

                                                      [–]Elranzer 13 points14 points ago

                                                      Good luck trying to buy one.

                                                      [–]brownjava 35 points36 points ago

                                                      Yup. I paid for one about 2 years ago (they weren't cheap) then was told "oops, we underestimated how long they would take to build, so if you give us more money we'll rush process it". I've tried to recoup my money with no success and I still have no device.

                                                      [–]kraeftig 16 points17 points ago

                                                      This is the worst cake day story I've read. On cake day. I'm so sorry.

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                                                            [–]Nolookhook 27 points28 points ago

                                                            Not blue;therefor, not x.

                                                            [–]Cilph 6 points7 points ago

                                                            So, it has come to this..

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                                                              [–]Liebot1 262 points263 points ago*

                                                              You forgot this masterpiece. Of course, there is this guy too.

                                                              [–]adventlife 109 points110 points ago

                                                              That does not compute. Error. Error.

                                                              [–][deleted] ago

                                                              [deleted]

                                                              [–]Vidyogamasta 199 points200 points ago

                                                              You think that's something?? This controller will blow your freakin' mind

                                                              [–]Thomas_Pained 111 points112 points ago

                                                              Holy shit, look at all the keys on that board.

                                                              [–]Vidyogamasta 89 points90 points ago

                                                              Yeah, and they aren't even color-coded! Horrible design choice.

                                                              [–]expertfapper 74 points75 points ago

                                                              Fixed

                                                              [–]tiffster17 42 points43 points ago

                                                              QUICK, MASH THE 'RED' SECTION!

                                                              [–]EnlightenedConstruct 25 points26 points ago

                                                              'Beep.'

                                                              [–]Dr_Cunning_Linguist 5 points6 points ago

                                                              847864150

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                                                                      [–]keiyakins 52 points53 points ago*

                                                                      Still less confusing than this.

                                                                      [–]phoncible 13 points14 points ago

                                                                      Most of the buttons on that thing are for show. Really it just comes down to the two control sticks and the buttons on those, and that's no more than your avg. controller these days. There's a main weapon fire, alt fire...basic stuff.

                                                                      God that game was fun. Grossly underrated.

                                                                      [–]KingMotion 20 points21 points ago

                                                                      Of course what is obviously the controls for an airplane would be more confusing.

                                                                      [–]jozaud 4 points5 points ago

                                                                      this is the special controller for the game Steel Battalion. It's a mecha battle game, where if you die in combat without ejecting from your mecha, you're game is deleted. It's insane.

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                                                                          [–]arch4ngel 33 points34 points ago

                                                                          I still prefer this version. Ultimate FTW.

                                                                          [–]zaphodi 24 points25 points ago

                                                                          if i ever see somebody using that, im going to sneak in and change the keyboard layout to dvorak

                                                                          [–]Leoneri 35 points36 points ago

                                                                          I think somebody who has this type of keyboard will probably know enough about computers to figure that out in a second or two.

                                                                          [–]da1hobo 9 points10 points ago

                                                                          I'm willing to bet someone using this type of keyboard already has it in the dvorak layout.

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                                                                                [–]ROBOEMANCIPATOR 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                As a computer gamer with nerve damage in his hands, this thing has made my life worth living. Unf unf unf.

                                                                                [–]expertfapper 10 points11 points ago

                                                                                Can I ask you a completely honest question. How do you fap?

                                                                                [–]ROBOEMANCIPATOR 14 points15 points ago

                                                                                You know the term "The Stranger"? Yeah, like that but all the time.

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                                                                                  [–]omgarm 14 points15 points ago

                                                                                  I've always wanted to play with this controller.

                                                                                  [–]shorty6049 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                  I get how a keyboard is great for gaming, but as someone who's still very new to PC gaming , I am constantly pressing the wrong keys (or forgetting/not knowing what keys do what) . I ended up hooking my ps3 controller for some games becuase of it

                                                                                  [–]anxdiety 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                  The difference between mouse/keyboard and a gamepad is night and day. I remember when I first got quake and using a game pad. Then losing it and being forced to learn the kb/mouse combo. I couldn't believe the difference. Now I can't even comprehend how anyone can play an FPS on a controller.

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                                                                                    [–]LeviathanTech 7 points8 points ago*

                                                                                    How 'bout this rarely seen beauty?

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                                                                                      [–]Phlexonance 11 points12 points ago

                                                                                      oh yeah, mortal combat combos which required pressing A+C or A+Z and the only way to do it is use 2 fingers

                                                                                      [–]Biduleman 10 points11 points ago

                                                                                      While playing a fighting game, the best way to hold a 6 button controller like a genesis controller is with the palm on the side of the controller, using the fingers on the controller the same way you would on an arcade controller.

                                                                                      It makes for way easier combo.

                                                                                      [–]mysticrudnin 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                      I use the 360 controller like this

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                                                                                        [–]seamouse 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                        That's my shit right there. Virtua Cop, Sega Rally, Virtual Fighter, Fighting Vipers, Nights Into Dreams, all day baby.

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                                                                                          [–]Erifdex 18 points19 points ago

                                                                                          I was trying to explain Halo's controls to a distant relative a while ago. He was a Playstation guy, so I went with colours instead of characters for this exact reason. After 30 minutes of pausing and explaining, he told me he was colour blind. Back to square (or should I say, "x") one.

                                                                                          [–]ilovegoatcheese 181 points182 points ago*

                                                                                          TIL: that every X button is blue

                                                                                          edit: I originally typed "everyone"

                                                                                          [–]katieberry 100 points101 points ago

                                                                                          Only because the GameCube one is a terrible picture. It should be grey.

                                                                                          [–]pankration 118 points119 points ago

                                                                                          blue/button=everyone

                                                                                          [–]Sonic_Dah_Hedgehog 8 points9 points ago

                                                                                          Dreamcast is yellow.

                                                                                          [–]Lilawer_ 4 points5 points ago

                                                                                          It fell off the side of the wiimote.

                                                                                          [–]stillalone 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                          that's kind of interesting given that none of the other letter/colors matchup.

                                                                                          [–]ChewbaccasAbortion 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                          Not the PSP/Vita. It's plain black or white.

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                                                                                            [–]doesnotgetthepoint 98 points99 points ago

                                                                                            I think the gamecube's control scheme was the most intuitive, each button had it's own shape so you didn't have to look at the buttons.

                                                                                            [–]sathka 39 points40 points ago

                                                                                            Agreed, the thing that immediately springs to mind is certain Mario Party games on the Gamecube that required you to hit a button after it flashes on the screen, or switch from one to another quickly without knowing ahead of time which button it would be. This was made very easy with the visual representation of the buttons on the screen, with their characteristic shape and color; shape being equivalent to location due to each button having a unique shape.

                                                                                            [–]tgunter 34 points35 points ago

                                                                                            The Wavebird is to this day still one of the best game controllers ever designed. It wasn't perfect (the dpad was a little too small, and the z-button was too stiff), but it was close.

                                                                                            [–]DreadNephromancer 15 points16 points ago

                                                                                            The GC shell fits like a fucking glove. I love my Wavebird but it's not perfect, the batteries made it kinda chunky and it had no rumble. I'm sure they could fit wireless and rumble into a basic GC controller shell by now, and my god would it be glorious.

                                                                                            I've accepted that the D-pad sucks, and that's OK. It only bothers me on fighters and I'd rather have a fightstick for those anyway.

                                                                                            [–]snubdeity[!] 6 points7 points ago

                                                                                            Yeah I'm kinda pissed the Wii U won't support it, being able to use it for (a limited number of) Wii games kinda made buying a Wii easier. It's still all I use in SSBB.

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                                                                                              [–]HRP 20 points21 points ago

                                                                                              Not to mention that the gamecube controller is just ridiculously comfortably to hold. I mean, I feel like that thing was basically molded to fit my hands.

                                                                                              It's only downfall is the small dpad.

                                                                                              [–]X29 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                              I agree. The buttons and their shapes are perfect. The big A button allows you to firmly rest your thumb on it and press B/Y/X without having to lift it since B/Y/X are all surrounding A. This is in contrast to the Xbox controller where your thumb is either over all four buttons, over A/X or over B/Y.

                                                                                              I also really loved the way the L/R triggers would "snap" if you pressed them all the way down.

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                                                                                                [–]Amisten 9 points10 points ago

                                                                                                Switched from long time 360 to a PS3. Figured I'd play through all the exclusives. Tried playing God of War 3 but every time it says "PRESS X!!!!!" I press square.

                                                                                                [–]enjoylol 6 points7 points ago

                                                                                                Looks like we've come full ◯

                                                                                                [–]rawbertson 48 points49 points ago

                                                                                                I still go by SNES Layout, if that was your first one, it's very hard to break it. PSX is ez to learn because it doesn't use letters. I really wish the other companies would have just copied SNES or PSX and not made a third, i still don't know the xbox layout and i have had xbox products for over 6 years now i think!

                                                                                                [–]masterlich 19 points20 points ago

                                                                                                Yeah, I have the same problem. Whenever I see X, I immediately think it's the top button because of the SNES. But now I have the even worse problem that most of my gaming now is done with a PS3 controller emulating an Xbox 360 controller on my computer. So whenever something says "press X" my first thought is top button, because of SNES history, but then I remember it's not that, so I press the bottom button, because that's where X is on the controller I'm holding. BUT THEN IT'S NOT THERE EITHER.

                                                                                                [–]harajukukei 35 points36 points ago

                                                                                                My brain is permanently programmed to the snes layout. I fail even the easiest of xbox quick time events repeatedly.

                                                                                                [–]CrimsonVim 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                                I'm sure they wanted to copy it, but they can't due to patent infringement. That's why d-pad design sucks on many controllers.

                                                                                                [–]tgunter 6 points7 points ago

                                                                                                In order to reprogram myself to recognize the layout of the XBox controller I had to force myself to ignore the letters and instead go by color.

                                                                                                [–]Mithys 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                                I think the PS layout is copyrighted, that's why all the third party controllers use all these weird triangles and shit.

                                                                                                [–]WhipIash 8 points9 points ago

                                                                                                How in hell can they copyright such basic layout? It would be like Apple copyrighting the use of round edges.

                                                                                                Oh wait...

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                                                                                                    [–]braxford 35 points36 points ago

                                                                                                    What gets me is how American developers map YES/CONFIRM to one button and NO/CANCEL to another. Then the Japanese developers come in and it's switched. All opposite.

                                                                                                    [–]Deimorz 48 points49 points ago

                                                                                                    In Japan, ◯ is a common symbol used for something "positive", and Ｘ for something negative. So it makes sense to them to map the buttons like that. We don't use ◯ that way though, so it doesn't have that natural mapping, and most developers just ended up using Ｘ because it's the button in the most convenient position.

                                                                                                    [–]SvenHudson 8 points9 points ago

                                                                                                    But that was just a continuation of the same setup being used on the Super Nintendo. The positive and negative connotations were more likely a factor for Sony's hardware designers than the software developers.

                                                                                                    [–]Deimorz 5 points6 points ago

                                                                                                    That's true, and as far as I can remember, confirm was always A on the SNES. I can't remember it ever being B. So the Sony designers just continued with the current standard.

                                                                                                    But what I mean is that it probably would have influenced the entire capability to change the confirm button. For Japanese people, having Ｘ be confirm and ◯ cancel would seem completely wrong, because that's the exact opposite meaning of those symbols to them. But we don't really have that cultural link, so it's not a big deal. So someone probably realized that moving confirm to the button on the bottom just made sense, and decided to do it.

                                                                                                    Now I'm curious what the first game was to start using the "swapped" buttons.

                                                                                                    [–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                    To me X seems natural for accept but I think that is just years of playing games where X is accept. Quite frankly, culturally, X in the west still makes more sense as cancel. X is often used to mark homework wrong, for example. And people circle things that they want to include, not exclude.

                                                                                                    [–]Deimorz 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                    Well, the distinction is between "makes sense" and something closer to "literally means". To have a better idea of what it's like from the Japanese perspective, imagine that the circle button had a checkmark on it instead.

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                                                                                                      [–]harajukukei 31 points32 points ago

                                                                                                      to be fair, X makes much more sense as the cancel button.

                                                                                                      [–]Legoandsprit 28 points29 points ago

                                                                                                      Or B for Back

                                                                                                      [–]Caddy666 18 points19 points ago

                                                                                                      but the xbox has a back button.....

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                                                                                                        [–][deleted] 9 points10 points ago

                                                                                                        And circle as the accept button. You circle things you want, not things you don't want.

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                                                                                                            [–][deleted] 48 points49 points ago

                                                                                                            The old NES had the best button setup:

                                                                                                            • A
                                                                                                            • B

                                                                                                            [–]RegisMK5 145 points146 points ago

                                                                                                            I think you mean

                                                                                                            • B
                                                                                                            • A

                                                                                                            [–]akumadiavolo 132 points133 points ago

                                                                                                            Well, it's a Japanese controller, so it would be read from right to left.

                                                                                                            [–]The_Director 102 points103 points ago

                                                                                                            You finally solved that mystery for me.

                                                                                                            [–]Elranzer 15 points16 points ago

                                                                                                            TIL

                                                                                                            [–]imthefooI 5 points6 points ago

                                                                                                            Holy... shit...

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                                                                                                                [–]kragmoor 48 points49 points ago

                                                                                                                i for one apreciate the 2600's controll setup

                                                                                                                BUTTON

                                                                                                                [–]Beakerbite 18 points19 points ago

                                                                                                                Woah man, slow down. Which button do I press again?

                                                                                                                [–]jayseesee85 38 points39 points ago

                                                                                                                The.

                                                                                                                [–]PongApp 9 points10 points ago

                                                                                                                Reminds me of an episode of AVGN were he was trying to get an old 2600 to work and he said something to the effect of "I jiggled the cart and turned it on. Tried every button, by which I mean ONE, and STILL it wouldn't work!"

                                                                                                                [–][deleted] 5 points6 points ago

                                                                                                                And the joystick that doesn't work for shit? Hell, you can keep it.

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                                                                                                                    [–]syrindigo26 29 points30 points ago

                                                                                                                    according to math, Gamecube makes the most sense, positive x axis, and y axis. But I do agree X button is insane...

                                                                                                                    X - The the thinking button

                                                                                                                    Y - If its not X, its probably this

                                                                                                                    A - do regular things!

                                                                                                                    B - DO AWESOME THINGS!

                                                                                                                    Z - .... Where... the shit is that...

                                                                                                                    [–]kylejn 150 points151 points ago

                                                                                                                    The Xbox layout is the best, followed closely by the Playstation.

                                                                                                                    1. If you imagine the four buttons as making a cross akin to a d-pad, the X is along the X-axis and the Y is along the Y-axis.

                                                                                                                    2. X and Y are read in alphabetical order from left to right. So are A and B.

                                                                                                                    3. Bold, distinct colors allow players to quickly distinguish between buttons and connect on-screen prompts with physical button placement (the European SNES also does this well).

                                                                                                                    [–]mith22 37 points38 points ago

                                                                                                                    Thank you! In any situation that requires hitting X or Y as a quick response, I always mess it up because it is opposite of SNES controls. Your analogy to x and y axis will stick with me forever!

                                                                                                                    [–]illRooster 18 points19 points ago

                                                                                                                    I think some people prefer the control sticks to be on an even plane though (so some of my friends have told me).

                                                                                                                    IMHO, I like the Xbox slightly more due to its more ergonomic grip.

                                                                                                                    [–]Provid3nce 24 points25 points ago

                                                                                                                    Why? It's awkward to hold. Xbox controllers fit your hand much better and the positions of the sticks are more natural. The fact that I have to lean my thumbs in on a dual shock annoys the crap out of me.

                                                                                                                    [–]illRooster 16 points17 points ago

                                                                                                                    Like I said, I like the Xbox more because its more ergonomic.

                                                                                                                    For some reason, there are people who like having their thumbs at the same angle so movement in whatever direction is the same... so I've been told.

                                                                                                                    I'm a PC gamer anyway, so I really can't be considered an expert on ergonomics (though I do use an xbox pad for casual games).

                                                                                                                    [–]freeogy 9 points10 points ago

                                                                                                                    Xbox has a terrible D-pad, and I use the d-pad a lot.

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                                                                                                                      [–]ramiregr 7 points8 points ago*

                                                                                                                      XBox controllers are perfect. The US military uses similar controllers (without the xbox logo) to control some drones as the button layout is great and everyone is familar with it.

                                                                                                                      [–]longdongT 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                      Playstation didn't do much thinking on their button names. When communicating with friends on what button to press rather then on screen prompts saying things like press "triangle" or "circle" is completely inefficient compared to press "bee" or "why"

                                                                                                                      [–]RamblingStoner 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                      1. Bold, distinct colors allow players to quickly distinguish between buttons and connect on-screen prompts with physical button placement (the European SNES also does this well)

                                                                                                                      I prefer the GameCube layout above all others for exactly this reason. My fingers know what button I'm pressing based solely on the shape of the buttons. Couple that with the most response triggers, the most comfortable analog stick ever made, and put them in the light as a feather Wavebird and you've designed the perfect controller.

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                                                                                                                        [–]FartMart 10 points11 points ago

                                                                                                                        The gamecube controller is unique (and the best) because every button has a different shape and so a different feel. If you play it enough, you should know that X=vertical bean and not have to think at all.

                                                                                                                        I assume you left out dreamcast because its the same as xbox. Except its better, so you should've used it instead.

                                                                                                                        [–]Brian175 4 points5 points ago

                                                                                                                        Being a mostly xbox guy, this is why Heavy Rain was a son-of-a-bitch.

                                                                                                                        [–]MikeE21286 21 points22 points ago

                                                                                                                        God switching between Nintendo and Microsoft controllers always does this to me

                                                                                                                        [–]imbetterimback 42 points43 points ago

                                                                                                                        Yea, God does need to stick to one controller

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                                                                                                                          [–]DrascaL 3 points4 points ago

                                                                                                                          Whenever I swap from playing Xbox to PS3 it always takes me so long to figure out why the "Press X to continue screen" is not working.

                                                                                                                          [–]tehaleks 6 points7 points ago

                                                                                                                          I failed so hard playing Heavy Rain.

                                                                                                                          [–]andrewsmith1986 340 points341 points ago*

                                                                                                                          I will fight to the death to defend the fact that playstation has the best button layout. 

                                                                                                                            △
□   ◯
  x

                                                                                                                          [–]FaintSpeaker 247 points248 points ago

                                                                                                                          I find control layouts aren't as relevant as how the game uses the controls. Regardless of whether it is a Xbox controller, Gamecube controller, or a Playstation controller a game with bad controls is still a game with bad controls.

                                                                                                                          [–]NazzerDawk 66 points67 points ago

                                                                                                                          I dunno, a bad controller can be pretty hard to get around sometimes. Some controllers just make it hard to create a good control scheme.

                                                                                                                          [–]Markuz 39 points40 points ago

                                                                                                                          Atari Jaguar. Enough said.

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                                                                                                                            [–]Bashasaurus 16 points17 points ago

                                                                                                                            I think you're missing something here, namely quick time events and other things that flash a button on the screen for a second and you have to remember "which fucking button is X".

                                                                                                                            This is honestly the only time it ever comes up for me, hell I couldn't tell you what buttons do what on a controller in most games unless you put the controller in my hand, muscle memory yo!

                                                                                                                            [–]BeJeezus 20 points21 points ago

                                                                                                                            Yup. That is what makes those quick-time things so annoying for me. I have to actually stop and remember whether I am using XBox or PS3 controller, or (it's faster) look down and re-memorize each time.

                                                                                                                            They should always use an onscreen diamond layout with the button they want highlighted: ❖

                                                                                                                            Most games do this right for the D-pad directions, but they can't seem to do it for the "action" buttons.

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                                                                                                                              [–]TheFugget 9 points10 points ago

                                                                                                                              Fuckin' Metal Gear 2&3, man...

                                                                                                                              [–]Nurger 10 points11 points ago

                                                                                                                              That sexy fucking button press sensitivity.

                                                                                                                              Oh my GOD that game blew my LOAD when I found out about that. HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

                                                                                                                              [–]TheFugget 5 points6 points ago

                                                                                                                              No, FUCK that. I had to break my fucking thumb every time I needed to slice someone's neck. EVERY FUCKING TIME. It was waaaay better in the GTA games that utilized it.

                                                                                                                              I'm talking about how the menu navigation was all fucky.

                                                                                                                              [–]TriplePlay2425 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                              You don't have to press it that hard to slit their throats, unless your controller is screwed up. I often accidentally slit their throats because I accidentally applied a little too much pressure after I grabbed an enemy, when I just wanted to start tapping it to choke them out. I did that on the HD Collection on PS3 on my very first enemy encounter. Didn't mean to slit his throat. But I didn't find the PS2 version (of Subsistence, anyway, I never played vanilla MGS3) annoyingly hard to press to slit throats.

                                                                                                                              I love the pressure-sensitive buttons in MGS. I think it's a very cool mechanic.

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                                                                                                                                    [–]jmdbcool 106 points107 points ago

                                                                                                                                    I still refer to this layout even when playing other systems, and all my friends understand.

                                                                                                                                    Friend trying one of my Xbox 360 games:
                                                                                                                                    "Hey, how do I change weapons?"
                                                                                                                                    -- "Uh, Triangle."
                                                                                                                                    "Got it."

                                                                                                                                    [–]Darchseraph 38 points39 points ago*

                                                                                                                                    Dude how do you activate stuff?

                                                                                                                                    Uhh... "F"?

                                                                                                                                    I'm on Dvorak...

                                                                                                                                    [–]razorbeamz 21 points22 points ago

                                                                                                                                    You should intuitively know where the reload button is if you're used to PC games.

                                                                                                                                    [–]Darchseraph 17 points18 points ago

                                                                                                                                    Changed it to activate, because it can be either E or F depending on whether or not the FPS is balanced for lean...

                                                                                                                                    [–]ajpos 16 points17 points ago

                                                                                                                                    I actually prefer to use F for flashlight, R for reload, and G for grenade. It makes the most sense.

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                                                                                                                                        [–]kolivere 15 points16 points ago

                                                                                                                                        What about X? How do I know what you're talking about when you say X?!?

                                                                                                                                        [–]Naeddyr 19 points20 points ago

                                                                                                                                        "Cross".

                                                                                                                                        [–]trober 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                        The Blue Button

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                                                                                                                                          [–]andrewsmith1986 31 points32 points ago

                                                                                                                                          Exactly.

                                                                                                                                          If I tell you R2, what button are you hitting on xbox?

                                                                                                                                          [–]deagle2012 57 points58 points ago

                                                                                                                                          Right trigger?

                                                                                                                                          [–]andrewsmith1986 28 points29 points ago

                                                                                                                                          Exactly.

                                                                                                                                          I could say any basic button and it'll work out.

                                                                                                                                          Not just the main 4.

                                                                                                                                          [–]The_Director 24 points25 points ago

                                                                                                                                          Yesterday told a friend to press R3 while playing a PC game with xbox controllers.

                                                                                                                                          How do you even call R3 in xbox?

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                                                                                                                                                  [–]Dresden89 106 points107 points ago*

                                                                                                                                                  Nope, Xbox ( Actually Dreamcast did it first) got it correct.

                                                                                                                                                  The X button is on the X-Axis, The Y button is on the Y-Axis;

                                                                                                                                                  The A button is primary (most used), the B button is secondary.

                                                                                                                                                  It's an extremely logical layout. I never understood why Nintendo would do the opposite, it makes no sense at all.

                                                                                                                                                  [–]TheMeatball 11 points12 points ago

                                                                                                                                                  I thought it was because the Japanese read right-to-left.

                                                                                                                                                  [–]Nukleon 10 points11 points ago

                                                                                                                                                  This is the correct answer.

                                                                                                                                                  [–]benbeltran 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                                  Yes. Like variable names in different areas of maths, you use a sequence of letters... such as A, B, C. or X, Y, Z. In the case of Sega and Nintendo they decided to use two sets: A, B, (C) and X, Y, (Z). Unlike sony, where they tried to use an iconic layout or neo-geo that used one set of letters (A,B,C,D) ... If you notice, the xbox and snes controllers are exactly the same except for direction (LTR or RTL).

                                                                                                                                                  As to why sega chose LTR instead of RTL. I can only assume that sega was thinking globally and nintendo was thinking locally. Or something like that.

                                                                                                                                                  The choice for X, Y has nothing to do with axes. Also, the X in the PS controller is not a letter X it's a symbol X. So while they look the same, their meaning is quite different (As I mentioned, sony went with an iconic controller)

                                                                                                                                                  Also, in the xbox I think color is more important than letters.

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                                                                                                                                                    [–]akunin 21 points22 points ago

                                                                                                                                                    For the same reason that PS does it the opposite:

                                                                                                                                                    O = True = Select

                                                                                                                                                    X = False = Back

                                                                                                                                                    Same positioning as the SNES controllers. You may remember being confused while playing FF7. This is why.

                                                                                                                                                    [–]Belsher 18 points19 points ago

                                                                                                                                                    Are you sure?

                                                                                                                                                    I'm pretty sure X = confirm / select and O = back / cancel on my PS.

                                                                                                                                                    [–]akunin 14 points15 points ago

                                                                                                                                                    Yep. It was made by Japanese people. They're weird; they put the buttons in the wrong place.

                                                                                                                                                    Americans (and such) have adapted to the clearly superior scheme of 'confirm/select' at the bottom. Like god intended.

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                                                                                                                                                        [–][deleted] 12 points13 points ago

                                                                                                                                                        Because no one is going to think "Ok, the Y button is on the Y axis so now I don't have to look at the buttons!"

                                                                                                                                                        [–]greyscales 24 points25 points ago

                                                                                                                                                        From now on, I will think that.

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                                                                                                                                                          [–]SRevanM 5 points6 points ago

                                                                                                                                                          They are basically the same controller with the d-pad and analog stick switched on the left side.

                                                                                                                                                          [–]Jamesabeth 9 points10 points ago

                                                                                                                                                          I call the X button on PlayStation controllers "Cross", because that's what it is - the shape. Lettered controllers I call "Ex". Saves some confusion when explaining.

                                                                                                                                                          [–]glenbolake 12 points13 points ago

                                                                                                                                                          Cross is what Sony calls it, too.

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                                                                                                                                                            [–]gamer_mom 7 points8 points ago

                                                                                                                                                            In a panic situation, such as an unexpected QTE, I always get the circle and square button backwards.

                                                                                                                                                            [–]revolting_blob 6 points7 points ago

                                                                                                                                                            oh yeah? I use my ps3 controller on my pc. Usually it needs to be emulating an XBOX 360 PC controller because that's what most games understand. So then the PC thinks it's an XBOX controller.

                                                                                                                                                            What button is X? WHAT BUTTON IS X???

                                                                                                                                                            [–]new_to_the_game 77 points78 points ago

                                                                                                                                                            ...you picked the controller I hate the most

                                                                                                                                                            [–]andrewsmith1986 70 points71 points ago

                                                                                                                                                            Pistols at dawn.

                                                                                                                                                            [–]triffid_boy 20 points21 points ago

                                                                                                                                                            that's fine, your gun probably won't have a real trigger :p

                                                                                                                                                            I have large hands, so am obviously going to be biased towards the 360 controller (I actually liked the duke, too) - I can see why the Ps3 controller is perfectly good, excluding the triggers. They're terrible.

                                                                                                                                                            [–]Raylour 40 points41 points ago

                                                                                                                                                            I understand where you are coming from but honestly the feel of the triggers on the xbox controllers kind of put it above the playstation controller for me.

                                                                                                                                                            [–]Robstaley 34 points35 points ago

                                                                                                                                                            plus the PS controllers are completely geometric- they don't fit the hand at all.

                                                                                                                                                            [–]ICantSeeIt 27 points28 points ago

                                                                                                                                                            They fit perfectly...

                                                                                                                                                            I think most people are trying to hold it differently than intended. With the Xbox, you wrap your palm around the sides of the controller. With the PlayStation it's all fingertips, and just a tiny bit of your palm touches the controller. Also, your palms rotate a bit more downward, which puts your thumbs on the sticks.

                                                                                                                                                            [–]Holybasil 29 points30 points ago

                                                                                                                                                            That is just not a comfortable or normal way to hold the hands for me.

                                                                                                                                                            Feels like every tendon tenses up.

                                                                                                                                                            I prefer if it is as close to just resting your hands in your lap. The 360 controller does that better in my opinion.

                                                                                                                                                            Still... Keyboard+Mouse still the ultimate combo

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                                                                                                                                                                  [–]Doopz479 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                                                  It's a bigger square to me.

                                                                                                                                                                  [–][deleted] ago

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                                                                                                                                                                    [–]Wazowski 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                                                    PS buttons are bad: "Press A-A-B-X-Y-X" is easier to type than "Press Triangle-Triange-Triangle-Circle-Square-Circle" etc.

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                                                                                                                                                                      [–]xxdd21xx 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                                                      I have played Xbox so much that no matter what system I am on I just assume the left button is X. It gets really confusing when I try to tell people what the X button does and they go pressing the actual X button

                                                                                                                                                                      [–]HardCorwen 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                                                      I have no issue switching between SNES and PS, but x on Xbox always throws me off.

                                                                                                                                                                      [–]robson0 2 points3 points ago

                                                                                                                                                                      Console is for the proletariat. You should all be on PC.

                                                                                                                                                                      [–]futuramaguy07 8 points9 points ago

                                                                                                                                                                      Do you regularly switch between those four systems? If so, you are awesome.

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