Anyone wanting to play on the PS4 or PS5 has probably noticed the symbols that you can find everywhere on the PlayStation. But what do the Square, Circle, Triangle, and X actually mean?
If you play on the PS4 or have already managed to buy a PS5, you have probably noticed the signs that you can find on every PlayStation product from Sony:
The symbols can be found on every PlayStation controller, navigating through the menus or playing your games. Sony also relies on these symbols in the official PS Store or in many videos. But what do they actually mean?
The idea for the symbols on the PlayStation comes from a designer
Who invented the PlayStation symbols? Behind the symbols used everywhere today is designer Teiyu Goto. He not only designed the controller but also the first PlayStation console.
Goto almost failed with his controller design, as Sony would have preferred a controller in the style of the SNES controller. Instead, Goto delivered a concept with grips and a joystick, which the decision-makers at Sony did not like at first glance.
In the end, the then Sony President Norio Ohga decided for Goto’s proposed design.
What do the symbols mean? Teiyu Goto explained that there is a meaning behind each of the symbols. Even with the PlayStation 1, great value was placed on high accessibility, and therefore he put a lot of thought into the corresponding controller:
The Triangle refers to the viewpoint; I left it for the head or direction and made it green,” said Goto. “The Square refers to a piece of paper; I used it for menus or documents and made it pink. The Circle and the X stand for the decision ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and I made them red and blue respectively.
(via cnet.com)
Today, the symbols are used completely differently in many games, but that was Goto’s original idea when he designed it for Sony. By the way, the official names for the buttons are:
- Triangle – (Triangle)
- Circle – (Circle)
- Cross – (Cross)
- Square – (Square, but also Rectangle)
The symbols also play a role in some games. In the USA and Germany, you press the X button for “yes” and the O button for “no”. In Japan, it is exactly the opposite.
The symbols of PlayStation refer to pizza
What does pizza have to do with PlayStation? A few years ago, there was a huge discussion in the PlayStation community about the “X” button. Some believe that it is an “X”, while others are convinced that it is a “Cross”.
The discussion was quite crazy, and PlayStation UK explained that they had chosen a “winner” from the many voices: since then, the symbols are referred to as:
- Pizza (Circle)
- Slice of Pizza (Triangle)
- Pizza Box (Square)
- No Pizza (X)
Currently, it is hardly possible to buy the PS5, but there are already rumors about the PS6. MeinMMO presents all the information surrounding PlayStation 6.
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