Before anyone gets too concerned, we're happy to confirm that the X button found on your Nintendo Switch Joy-Con or Pro Controller is, and always will be, called 'X'. Because of course it is.
As you may well be aware, the PlayStation corner of the internet has been in absolute meltdown over the last few days after PlayStation UK revealed that the DualShock controller's 'X' button is actually referred to as 'Cross'. We're sure you'll agree that this simply cannot be correct; indeed, our chums over at Push Square found that roughly nine out of ten players call it 'X'.
Here's the now-infamous reveal itself:
Concerned for the Nintendo community and gaming fans at large, we decided to get everyone in the office to stop what they were doing, find a computer, and search for any evidence of Nintendo pronouncing the names of its controller face buttons. It was a surprisingly difficult task, but we're happy to confirm that it is indeed called 'X', as proven by Nintendo's very own JC Rodriguez.
You'll hear it at the 8:15 mark below.
Phew! Thank goodness.
Now, go ahead and rest easy for the rest of the day - you can thank us later.
Comments 100
I wasn't aware anyone actually cared about this.
Well, one controller has regular letters, the other has custom symbols
I can die happily now
Playstation was always cross, what is wrong with PS players?
And of course the Nintendo is X as it is next to Y.
I was devastated to find out 'B' was actually pronounced 'Bee'
Oh good, I was worried Iād have to start calling them the āA, B, Cross, Yā buttons!
I...I donāt even know what to make of this. Itās going to be one of those Mondays, isnāt it?
Cross? Really? Like the roman cross that killed hundreds of thousands of people. I'll just stick with "x".
Just like the deliberately ignored logic of PSUK's tweet (a symbol in the bunch of other symbols), this here is a letter in the bunch of other letters. I try to avoid derogatory jokes like "slow news day", but really now.
Now what do we call the Xbox?
"X-Box?"
"Cross-Box?"
"10-Box?"
Search for the truth and the truth will set you free.
Itās a day of celebration.
I think the PlayStation lot need a life lol
@nhSnork it's just a bonus fun story in addition to the usual news, reviews and features.
Yea, obviously.
Nintendo's button layout are letters, of course it's X.
Playstations buttons are symbols, originally for what the buttons were supposed to do:
Regardless, obviously those uses (other than yes/no, which aren't even the primary function in near any game) obviously never really stuck to those buttons as it being the early days of 3D more common layouts quickly made the intended use irrelevant, but its neat to know why PS controllers have seemingly random symbols.
Aed, Bed, Shed, and Yed.
@antdickens I know, but most of the time it's something peculiar and unexpected (or even something one couldn't make up if they tried). This... I don't know. Might as well poke Sega about the nomenclature of their bygone hardware days, I guess? They had X button, too.š
This is the type of journalism that keeps me coming back!
Pointy, O, X, Box
In Japan the "x" symbol is used for the word cross...so this doesn't suprise me at all...if u look at the smash bros character reveals they always us "x" when naming the 3rd party company. Also when the nintendo switch was first thought of they had code named it "NX" cross play between tv and on the go .
Nice, now can we get start and select back?
There's an easy rhyme to remember these.
A is a letter with a hat on its head.
Y is a letter with arms up, instead.
B is a letter starting Bee, Bum and Bike.
And X looks a bit like a Spike. Dislike.
Since when has this ever been a thing? Let's look back into history 25 years ago about when the PSX as it was called then (PS1) came out.
Sony aped the crap out of Nintendo after being cut off by them after they tried to rip off Nintendo making the CD system games profits entirely go to Sony by contract. Sony pissed, takes their NIntendo Playstation and converts it into the stand alone Sony Playstation more or less. The first thing they do is keep the SNES controller design around, add a couple L/R buttons and a different form factor. They can't use BAYX anymore as Nintendo has a lock, so they can't call it that, so they go with those crazy shapes instead of a flip like MS did years later. You can't call it X so cross works, they kept the angle, perhaps a plus sign would have been fine too, but whatever.
Nintendo already had pounded into gamers what and where the X button was and called it that since 1990/91, even Sega going 6 button used X Y and Z again calling it X. So it's history, everyone calls it X other than Sony people, sony fanboys who started there, and probably few others. It just makes sense. It's wrong sure, to 9 out of 10 gamers, but it's Sony's call, their hardware and on their hardware they're right.
In Japan...
Circle is Mawaru
Cross is Batsu
The only thing that annoys me is that Playstation games, since the early PSX days, can't seem to come to an agreement on whether X should confirm and O should cancel, or the other way around.
At least on Nintendo, you know that A is confirm.........unless you're playing Dark Souls for some reason.....
Actually, "X" and "O" on the controllers mean kiss and hugs.
Ultra's require three kisses and four hugs. Hehe
Keep in mind that in Japan:
O = Confirm / Correct
X = Cancel / Confirm
When designing the PlayStation Controller, they used shapes instead of letters: https://theuijunkie.com/playstation-button-shapes-meaning/
Usually in the west, we would use a Tick or a Cross, while in Japan, it's a Circle or a Cross. Point Blank on the PS1 uses a Circle (Correct) and Cross (Wrong).
If you want to refer the O / X as a letter instead of a shape, cool.
@AlphaElite
Western games that get translated into Japanese usually have the buttons swapped, or give the user the option to use X or O.
Now are the triggers called "Zee-Ell/Zee-Arr" or "Zed-Ell/Zed-Arr?"
What? So the buttons are consistent like the PS buttons? Who would've guessed! I've been calling it "overlapping slash & backslash" since the SNES (pronounced "ess-ness")
@antdickens I'm glad you share stories with Push Square. I think you should have more references to each others site.
@AlphaElite that totally drives me bonkers!
The PS buttons are obviously called X, O, Delta, and Katakana Ro. Doesn't everybody call them that way?
I wasn't aware that anyone called the Cross button on PlayStation "Ex" until this story emerged. Why would a letter be asking a series of shapes and symbols?
It also differentiates it from the actual Xs on the Nintendo, Sega and Microsoft pads.
I kinda freaked out when I read the name JC Rodriguez since that is also my name!!! That was soooo weird!!!
Seriously. I hazard a guess that anyone uncertain about this must apparently lack even the most basic Sesame Street level of education...
Whoever you are, I hope this helps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6keZIUJBsQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b0ftfKFEJg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsRjQDrDnY8
("One of these things...")
I've always known PlayStation's 'X' is known as "cross" - which makes perfect sense considering the other 3 face button icons are also symbols, not letters. Yet I've always called it (ex), simply because on Xbox & Nintendo systems it is the letter X.
It is a bit confusing, because there is triangle, square, circle, and... well... it just begs to be referred to as a cross, for consistency. Although circle can also be the letter O. Oh... now I'm just too confused to continue.
@Clamango
Maybe you are him, but only at night, when you think you're asleep...
Good to see some common sense- though I'm amazed that the DualShock actually managed to make it's already-absolutely-awful face button labeling scheme worse, lol...
GILDAS: Spyro my friend how about a hint at gliding, for the longest glide just press the X button at the top of a jump. You know not the Cross button that Sony says it was even though this was a Sony game. Seems like Sony forgot to tell their developer Insomniac Games at the time about this too.
This is gonna be the end of PlayStation!
@antdickens
"...in addition to the usual news..." -
On which you're, more often than not, very very late.
@Tao
O = yes and X = no (at least it should be like this, and I think in Japan it is)
@MrBlacky we've never been obsessed with being 'first', so that isn't really a concern.
@antdickens
Of course, because there are other sites, where you can get your gaming news on time. So I can see, why this is not a real concern of yours.š
@MrBlacky I think most sites have their own unique attributes, it's good that not all sites are the same as not all users are the same. There are plenty of other sites that throw up everything against the wall as it happens but we'd rather post a bit less and pick what to cover.
The difference here is that Sony has always used the reference to cross as far back as I can recall.
Adding to that, other than the thumbstick and extra shoulder buttons the controller buttons have remained the same.
Whereas this isn't true for nintendo which has seen many button revisions and lettering.
Did anyone think it was the 10 button?
The next PlayStation better be codenamed Chrono. That way we can refer to its controller as the Chrono Cross! XD
Exits stage left
X can still be a shape. It's not a letter to mark where treasure is on a map, but you still say 'X marks the spot'.
So is the plus button on the Switch also a cross?
@AlphaElite That's an East/West thing. They mean yes/no in the West, opposite in the East. The inconsistency in Japanese games is usually due to whether they changed it in the Western port.
Everyone can obviously call anything whatever they like! But the PlayStation face buttons are clearly all shapes! Therefore it is a Cross!
Jeez... really? One is shapes, the other is letters. Of course Nintendo is A, B, X, Y. Theyāre letters. Of course PS is Circle, Triangle, Square and Cross. Theyāre shapes.
How did people find this so hard? Lol š¤£
What is everyone talking about? Of course Nintendo's button is called Cross too. What do you guys call the Compass, Half Snowman and Slingshot buttons??? And the Crescent-stick on GC controller?
Well... it could be:
X: cross
A: eye looking down
Y: crotch
B: duck lips
One controller have SYMBOLS the other have LETTERS.... Can't understand the fuzz. Its so obvious.
@Tao im so sure your theory about the symbols corresponding a function is not correct.
Where did it came from?
@ilh mmmmaaayybe.... But normally the x has no 90Āŗ angles, while the cross does.
You all get them wrong.
Obviously Nintendo's correct button names are as follows:
A = Alpha
B = Beta
X = Hee
Y = Ypsilon
@Zequio It came from the inventor of the controllers in Japan. I also remember reading the original PS Manuals on early games and seeing references to the "Cross" button.
The issue was most publishers other then Sony just ignored it and called it the X button.
Sony thinking that they are above everyone else like usual.
Sorry Sony, it's X and O.
And people were making a thing about this why? Of course it's x on Nintendo (all letters) and Cross on Playstation (All shapes). Did people skip the lessons in kindergarten about shapes and letters? Gosh..
It's always going to be X button not Cross button to me, x is much quicker to say for most people so I doubt many people will magically start calling it cross even if it's technically correct. I've heard this before, but didn't change how I called it then or now .
an X-BOX controller has an X it and no one complains about it.
I get it, but outside of road signs, the term cross has too much connotation to the religious symbol for me. When it's equally proportioned, X is the clearest descriptor that comes to mind. [As for their salty response, I've heard O, but personally I use circle because it's still the clearest descriptor.]
However, Japan (which doesn't use X as a letter, and isn't overly christian) has no problem using it as shorthand for cross, like Project X Zone (which I just pronounced wrong in my head, again).
@sanderev the image is blocked on my device, can you please tell me what it is.
@Darknyht you're right! Insteresting!
https://web.archive.org/web/20110705174449/http://www.1up.com/news/playstation-1-design
This is what happends when Chuck norris comes into the office and asks a question about the buttons on his controller. (The world almost ended)
@dougphisig isn't "Oh" button instead of *circle" easier to say too?
Doesnāt this story appear every couple of years? Whatās next, how to pronounce NES again?
Wow, now this is totally important news!
@cave_Johnson
It's the "X Doubt"-meme.
@AlphaElite Actually a lot of SNES games used B as confirm as well. X and A were "extra buttons". So much so that the N64 controller put the A button where the SNES B button was, and the B for Y.
Japan refers to X as cross in titles (depending the placement). Smash Bros CROSS Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter XX (Double Cross), etc.
@Cotillion Like in tic-tac-toe.
And here I was thinking it was a Celtic rune all these years
Let me guess, square is actually a pyramid seen from above?
As I am sure others have pointed out, the ć and ā buttons in Japan are reversed because ć is the affirmative and ā is the negative. On worksheets in Japanese schools correct answers are marked with a circle and incorrect with an X.
I would love to know why Sony changed it for the west. It makes it really weird to go back and play any of my US release Playstation titles.
According to the guy who actually designed the controller it's not cross, or is in fact X. Just read this link and you will see he calls them "circle triangle square and X". Never once does he refer to it as cross.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/kotaku.com/what-do-the-buttons-on-the-playstation-controller-mean-5622270/amp
Why would it when every other button is a letter?
You don't wanna know what I called X and O, Sony, trust me!!
Good god someone was bored in the office. ;-p
Why would anyone think the X button on a Nintendo controller is called anything bur the letter X? The clue or all the other buttons called A B Y Z L R, etc.
Then again, the people thinking that the PlayStation buttons are called anything but triangle, circle, square and cross are also absolutely insane.
@Tao I thought triangle was supposed to be "Jump".
@SmaggTheSmug Could be, that's the one I wasn't sure on. It's a long time since I heard "whoever" talk about why the buttons are how they are.
Oh crap, I've always called it "W".
@SpiderSquid 10 box 1 XD
Wow. Really, no one really knew it was Cross on PlayStation? I get not saying it, but baffles me no one knew, especially with how up in arms many fans get about it being the ultimate, and only worthwhile lineage of consoles.
I remember the button sequence on Nintendo because is spells YA from left to right and B is on the bottom.
Wait - you're telling me THIS is why I saw a hint of it in my feed?
People will get angry over anything these days. It's really sad. Like... seriously 100% sad. Who honestly cares either way what its called??
Some gamers have a lot of time on their hands, it seems...
It's passed on! This button is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet it's maker! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If it weren't attached to the controller it'd be pushing up the daisies! It's metabolic processes are now history! It's off the twig! It's kicked the bucket, it's shuffled off it's mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN X BUTTON!!
@Zequio because an American translating a Japanese interview couldnāt possibly change it to common terminology.
X is an english shorthand for ācrossā hence our American railroad crossing signs (and all the other Xing signs out there). X also can stand in for the Latin X symbol in the case of X-mas (pronounced Christmas since Latin X is the first letter in Christ).
More importantly there is no X in Japanese, but there are lot of franchise X franchise games. For example āStreet Fighter cross Tekkenā.
@Darknyht I was talking about the meaning of each symbol (on off for cross and circle for example) not about X or cross. It is CROSS, not X.
Im in team cross all the way.
@m8e3point1415 ah, but you see...a circle is not actually a line, at least not in geometry.
sigh the reference is lost on all.....
@Darknyht While the meaning of "X" may be used as a shorthand for "cross" in meaning (railroad X-ING on signage does imply shorthand for crossing as you said), that's almost the only example in English of actually applying the letter X to be pronounced "Cross" along with the similar "Ped X-ing" signage for pedestrian crossings. X-Mas is used as a written shorthand for "Christmas", but when pronounced aloud in shorthand form it's usually pronounced "Ehks-mas" to reference that shorthand spelling. Neither is a reference to "cross." Most people don't pronounced "Street Fighter cross Tekken" they say "Street Fighter ehks Tekken", or just "The Street Fighter & Tekken crossover". Fighting game nerds may say "cross" for the X but that's because they're pulling in the Japanese original. While it's not inaccurate to use cross for X, we seem to use it exclusively for road related nomenclature not not anywhere else, so it fits strangely for a controller button labeled "X". Not many would think "cross" on seeing that.
Plus seeing it next to "O" most people would immediately think of "XOXO" or "Exes and Os", common English language shorthand for "hugs and kisses" or "love." When seeing them alone, circle could be circle or O. Seeing them alone, X would just be ehks, not "cross". Seeing together makes them instantly identifiable as "ex and oh." It kind of accidentally stumbled on pairing that in English makes it far more recognizable as an "Ehks" than a "cross." Add that "cross" is normally used for +, not x here.
It's not surprising that in Japan it's "cross" as that's commonly used for X in Japan, largely just because āćØćÆć¹ā is awkward to pronounce and best avoided. It exists, but it's one of those annoying "foreign accent" sounds that doesn't work natively too well, like an English native speaker trying to pronounce something Russian. No matter what you do it just sounds awful. I don't know how Nintendo managed to miss the nightmare of that naming.
But outside Japan, it's not common (other than for Japanese fighting game aficionados apparently) to say "cross" in place of X, unless it's a street crossing. Sony really should have embraced that it was going to be called "Ehks" outside Japan, and not try to pretend anyone would call it "cross" unless instructed to do so. You can say it's stubbornness of wanting to be uniform and stick to their Japanese roots.....but they reversed the button orientation out of the gate....but refuse to adapt the name. I think everyone would rather they reversed the name and kept the button layout than the way they did it..... Then PS "Ok/Cancel" would have matched Nintendo. As it does in Japan.
@sanderev thanks
I had no idea until recently that the X button on the Playstation was called the "cross". I kind of feel like special names for things is more fun if fans just give it a nickname. Not necessarily that everyone will know mind you, but having your own little personalized description is kind of charming in a way. To me, at least.
@NEStalgia Um, never said the āXā in X-mas was pronounced ācrossā. It pronounced āChristā just as X-ian can be used for āChristianā. As I said before and to quote, āThe "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Ī§ĻĪ¹ĻĻĻĻ, which in English is "Christ".
The point is āXā has been and will continue to be used as shorthand. Even if our society has forgotten why.
@Darknyht It's safe to presume that the average Playstation consumer is not researching the Greek roots of the pronunciation of the Latin X and it's reference to Christ when telling someone where the Jump button is.
They see an X without a hyphenated suffix: They say "X", because that's how that symbol is pronounced in English speaking countries.
"Quick! Hit the cross button!"
"The what?"
"The cross button!! Hit it now!!!"
"I'm looking, I don't see a cross button!"
"It's the one with the Latin symbol referencing the Greek name for Christ!"
"Are you drunk?"
"No just push the button before you fall!!"
"What button?"
"The cross button!!! Hit it!!"
"There's no cross button!!"
"The....it's the.......[indecipherable] ...fine.....The ex, hit the ex button!!!!"
"Oh why didn't you say so....oh...[GAME OVER]"
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