that part is definitively true. it caused me no end of confusion visiting japan.
i happen to have a japanese ps4 - and it follows in that same way. the real fun is that some games and apps use whatever the console’s default is, and some use the region, and some use one way for the displayed instructions while using the other way for the actual press.
netflix finally fixed their display to match their keypresses a couple months back. only now, if the box while goes to sleep while netflix is running, the app switches entirely from japanese to western style ( because, of course. )
ive always assumed that western games decided to use… ummm… cross… for “yes”… and later on, sony decided to use that as the defacto standard for western locales.
TBF cross makes more sense the over 3 buttons are shapes, so why name one after a letter? surely have all 4 shapes named after shapes for consistence makes sense? Dos it really matter ether way, as i am sure people know what you mean when you say it?
It’s a cross-cultural thing - non-Roman alphabets may not have an equivalent to the letter X but everyone knows what a cross is, so it simplifies matters if they standardise on a universal symbol name. Plus it’s internally consistent; all the others are shapes not letters. Sony also use the “X as cross” naming convention for the XMB (Cross Media Bar).
My assumption was that it’s a left/right right/left reading direction thing - “yes” comes first. It’s kind of like NES pads - the A and B buttons are “the wrong way round” in the west.
On the Playstation thing: I don’t have a particular history with gaming consoles (just PC), so coming to this as an outsider (and Brit, if that makes a difference), I’d say it has to be a cross rather than ‘X’. Four shapes make more sense than three shapes and a letter.
This is why I have a fun adjustment period when I go from gaming on my PS4 for awhile and then gaming on my Switch. Or vice versa. It’s so annoying, but I guess it’s helping keep my brain young, or something.
As for tit being the “Cross” button, isn’t England the land of “noughts and crosses”?
I suspect these are all categorized as shapes and “ecks” refers more to a letter than a shape. Shapes are more universal. A person who may not read or write yet could recognize shapes and terminology for them. If called X, that is excluding everyone who is not familiar with your alphabet and word for that letter.
← no_good_*
← ok_*
)
