PlayStation Controller Button Labels Demystified
Other game companies at the time assigned alphabet letters or colors to the buttons. We wanted something simple to remember, which is why we went with icons or symbols, and I came up with the triangle-circle-X-square combination immediately afterward. I gave each symbol a meaning and a color. The triangle refers to viewpoint; I had it represent one’s head or direction and made it green. Square refers to a piece of paper; I had it represent menus or documents and made it pink. The circle and X represent ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decision-making and I made them red and blue respectively. People thought those colors were mixed up, and I had to reinforce to management that that’s what I wanted.
After all these years, it’s great to hear the rational behind the symbols on the seminal controller. Triangle, Circle and X make sense (though I’m with “management” on the color choice for the last two).
I find Square = piece of paper to be an interesting relic of a tool that was designed before “digital” became the norm and we still had to hold on to analog metaphors.
