I don't spend a lot of time looking at game controlers mainly because I'm either playing the game or off doing real world things, but I took a brief pause for a moment to consider something about the xbox controller: Why are there an A and B buttons? I understand why the buttons themselves must be there (obviously), but why call them A and B? I mean, X and Y make sense (X and Y being the axis in any two dimentional direction), as well as all the other buttons names, but why A and B? Am I the only person to consider this?
Wait...A and B?
- Thread starter TenthRegeneration
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Probably because Microsoft wanted to be random, or they were going back to the days of the older consoles that i can't remember the name of
What would you call them instead? 1 and 2 (like the Wii?) perhaps?
It's arbitrary, they have to be labelled something. The A B / X Y thing is interesting though, I wonder if Snes controllers were originally going to have A B C D and then were changed for some obscure reason.
It's arbitrary, they have to be labelled something. The A B / X Y thing is interesting though, I wonder if Snes controllers were originally going to have A B C D and then were changed for some obscure reason.
Well this raises the question of why the older consoles did this in the first place.Evil Scotsman said:
Seriously, I think it goes back to the original arcade style games, which had A and B buttons, but the way they set up the snes controller, B and A were on the bottom-right and they didn't want to put C and D above it, so they just tacked on X Y.... That makes little sense... But since the Snes, most controllers have followed that design, at least somewhat.
because nintendo invented viideo game controllers and microsoft didnt want to rock the boat - im pretty sure a and b buttons didnt exist before the nes, but i could be wrong
Because the xbox controller is just an snes controller with some additions. They made two L/R buttons instead of one, and added two joysticks. And the snes was just the nes with bumpers and X/Y added. What is confusing to me is why Sony chose to use geometric shapes instead of letters for their face buttons.
It's a simple and universally recognised method of labeling the buttons (let's face it, having to explain what the omega, epsilon, theta and alpha buttons do would be awkward at the best of times).
It's also quick and easy to refer to them in the middle of the game and simply describing the button's colour or shape might be a bit patronising for some.
It's also quick and easy to refer to them in the middle of the game and simply describing the button's colour or shape might be a bit patronising for some.
My guess is that its a move in order to not alienate the people who grew up with the SNES controller and are used to ABXY on their diamond-shaped face buttons.
... Which is then thwarted by swapping the button positions. Quick Time Events are flow-breaking enough, but the first few games I played for the 360 were full of them. Another reason Mass Effect is my favorite game so far in my so-far four-month ownership of the console.
... Which is then thwarted by swapping the button positions. Quick Time Events are flow-breaking enough, but the first few games I played for the 360 were full of them. Another reason Mass Effect is my favorite game so far in my so-far four-month ownership of the console.
Square Circle Triangle Cross
1 2 3 4
Black White Green Red
A B X Y
They're just placeholders to differentiate the buttons, abxy being the one Nintendo popularised. It's totally arbitrary so A and B are the most logical to use, the real question is how did Sony end up with their system (besides wanting a recognisable, marketable brand to slap on the controllers that make them easily recognisable from other brand's controllers)?
1 2 3 4
Black White Green Red
A B X Y
They're just placeholders to differentiate the buttons, abxy being the one Nintendo popularised. It's totally arbitrary so A and B are the most logical to use, the real question is how did Sony end up with their system (besides wanting a recognisable, marketable brand to slap on the controllers that make them easily recognisable from other brand's controllers)?
Noooooooo! (dramatic dive towards screen)Abedeus said:
They're in QWEWRTY because in the days of typewriters people could type too fast for the mechanical typewriter to keep up. Originally all keyboards were ABCDEF, the QWERTY arrangement was designed to force typists to re-learn the keyboard as well as slow them down.
It also avoided (or lessened) the problem of jamming in the typewriter.