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Along with the trademarked ‘PS’ logo, the triangle, square, circle, and cross (or ‘X’) are a major part of PlayStation’s branding. These four shapes have graced the face buttons of Sony’s controllers going all the way back the original PlayStation. And while these may seem like arbitrary markings, they were each initially conceived to represent something different.
Made popular with the SNES, the diamond shaped layout for a controller’s face buttons are now an industry standard. But the arrangement wasn’t as nearly as ingrained into gamers’ consciousness when the original PlayStation launched in 1995. Due likely in part to system’s origins as a potential SNES add-on, the controller’s face buttons were arranged similarly. However, rather than marking them as A, B, X, and Y, Sony opted to use four shapes instead: a triangle, a circle, a cross (or X), and a square.
The reason Sony chose each of these shapes is quite simple, but developers either weren’t aware of these meanings or chose to deviate. The console’s designer, Teiyu Goto explained in an interview what each one represents:
Triangle is meant to represent a viewpoint, which when pressed would indicate the direction the player should go.
Circle is meant to represent ‘Yes’
Cross (or X) is meant to represent ‘No’
Square is meant to represent a piece of paper (such as an in-game document)
Again, these original concepts weren’t exactly followed as prescribed, especially in North America where X became the standard button for confirm, and circle is the typical button to cancel or back out of a screen. This is a complete inversion of the original intended purposes, but I guess we’re rebels like that. And while it didn’t exactly go as planned, now you know what the four shapes were originally designed to represent, a fact you can use to impress all your friends and family members.
