Sony Abandons Decades-Old Japanese Controller Logic for PS5

Eh, just have remapping. It’s nonsense to lock people into specific control schemes.

Off topic but is it me or is the ps5 actually smaller than what the Internet has made it out to be?

I bought a Japanese Vita last year and that is when I realised this was a thing!

It's not just affecting Japan. In the whole of East Asia, even outside of Japan, the O is used to Confirm and X to cancel on PlayStation. So it is affecting many more players than just Japanese. We already have to deal with different games having different buttons for select/cancel because many of them are unoptimized for standard button mapping when released here in East Asia.

@get2sammyb Seeing the close ups now after the Japanese hands-on is the first time I've fallen in love with it. I really do think it looks cool. I was lukewarm the entire time up until now.

@nessisonett Yeah. I don't get it. Just just have "X for confirm" as a tick box in the settings.

The obvious answer is to use button mapping! Accessibility is important and allowing people to map buttons how you want is a way to make the console more accessible for more people...

This is nothing new. The cross button and circle buttons have always been confirming and cancel buttons here in Europe.

I much prefer O as Confirm and X as cancel for more practical reasons. I noticed that in certain games, if X is the system standard for Confirm, then in games it is usually the same, meaning O becomes jump/dodge. I remember playing Mortal Shell which released in East Asia. The game's controls were not adapted to Asian button mapping, where system standard is O for Confirm and X for Cancel. So Mortal Shell had X for Confirm and O became Dodge/Evade.

I grew up playing Dark Souls where O was Select and X was dodge. It is more intuitive because X is closer to right analog stick so it is easier to move the fingers for quick dodging and camera control. Playing Mortal Shell where O was dodge was so difficult for me I eventually gave up playing.

Console looks great. It's really after growing on me.

I'm Japanese gamer and it's no problem!
I don't worry about it.
But many Japanese gamer could complaint.

"Like, omg it's, like, gonna be a nightmare, like"

Come on, man...

On PS4 at the begining I remember was in the setting menu so you can choose which button is for confirmation, now actually I'm not sure. But I have on board the vessel a Japan PS4 and I can say that the option is there and you can choose and it's running 7.51

That’s the end of playstation, everyone will cancel their preorders now, Sony will go out of business, the world is gonna end... folk really need to get a grip. Everyone is nitpicking about everything Sony does with ps5 and it’s almost all overreacting to things that don’t matter at all

this is what we've all been waiting for, now I can relax

I always prefer x as a confirm button, there's nothing more annoying than going from ps3 to psp, or ps4 to psvita and having to re-learn the button placement again. Now only switch is the odd one since ps4/5 and pc already have X (or A when playing pc game with xbox one gamepad) as a confirm button.

Nintendo has always have the A/Circle button.

The Japanese are complaining about the change yet when I import games and psp consoles I was forced to use circle to confirm, it wasn't a pleasant experience that is for sure.

They should just allow an option in the settings

Of course players in the west are saying its not a problem.
you've been using this way for 25 years
The Asian Market has not lol

Why not be like xbox and allow the buttons to be remapped
Allowing everyone to be happy

I understand them getting upset. I play on the Switch a lot during the day and the PS4 at night and I still get confused. And it's been that way for like 20 years in my house and it has always bothered me.

So, if Sony is changing it in Japan, where they have lived and breathed on Nintendo handheld consoles the past 20 years and I'm guessing Sony set the same scheme to match Nintnedo, then we are not talking about a simple change in Japan, but you are changing what they have bene doing for at least 20 years. And as a lot of them will probably own a Switch or Switch Lite they are going to have to learn a new control scheme while also keeping the old control scheme.

Yeah, Id' be complaining too. Sony is basically telling an entire country of Japanese gamers, Sony's country, to game like gaijin.

Metal gear solid always did this and maybe monster hunter, to be honest either way you get used to controls for a game in no time.

It should be the other way around and the West adopts the Japanese way imo. It would be in-line with Nintendo as well so I wouldn't keep screwing things up when I play games on Switch.
Plus it makes more sense for X not to be confirm.

Not directly related, can we get controller profiles saved this time around? Much like what the 360 had (I don't own an xbox one) where it'll save player's default preferences for certain game settings such as inverted camera, manual transmission, first person view, etc.

I can understand why Japanese gamers would be annoyed.

In essence Nintendo and Sony consoles are Japanese based and for Nintendo they've always kept the same mapping.. Why in the first place did Sony decide to go with X to accept in the west?

Why not circle to keep all regions in line I stead of forcing X on the eastern market all these years later.

Really this is Sony US/EUs fault. Back with the PS1 they started with the transition to X is confirm and O is cancel, while Sony Japan and Nintendo still used O and A in the same location on the right. Now 25 years later after keeping the control scheme separate in Japan and the west, they suddenly decide that the westernised change should be the only choice. Thats going to piss a lot of people off in the east, and wouldnt have been an issue if sony US didnt bother to change it in the first place, we would all have grown up using O for accept and wouldnt feel like theres a problem.

The switch is the Japanese way round even in the U.K. and I guess everywhere.
Which is annoying if you have just come off a PS4 or Xbox one.
Would nice if all the consoles gave you the option in a very simple set up menu as part of the console set up process at the beginning.

Consoles are so outdated, in most games the controller buttons can't even be customized, instead there are preset configurations to choose instead of full customizability.

In PS4 audio volume, there are only 25 bars, with each bar changing 4% of the volume, and you have to literally count the bars to know what volume it is currently at. Why is there no % indicator and also why not allow users to change volume at 1% increments?

The O/X mapping is also stupid, forcing us to use what they want us to instead of allowing choice to choose. It is the most basic of customizability that is lacking!

Also, the Live From Playstation on my PS4 has been glitched for 5 months now without being fixed. The number of live broadcasts for games have ridiculous numbers or inaccurate numbers. It sometimes shows Fortnite having a million live broadcasts, while before the glitch the average would be between 8000 to 12000 at any one time. It also shows some games having hundreds of live broadcasts but when I check, there are fewer than 10 broadcasts live.

PS4 is so outdated and buggy I think the developers have given up on fixing it.

It's amusing how gamers can adapt to different controls from one game to the next, yet swap 2 buttons on the UI and everyone has a hissy-fit.

This reminds me of the western release of Metal Gear solid for PlayStation. Whilst most games used X, this game use O (like FFVII).

Nothing to see here

ooh...I like the triangle and the square..why..ugh 😆😆😆

I have the original PAL version of Final Fantasy VII. There Circle is OK and X is Cancel.

You'll get used to it. It's the same as switching between PS and Nintendo. It's annoying for the first ten minutes, and that's it, for me anyway

@Valhalla91 it is just you. at 15.4" tall and 4.09" wide, it is huge indeed.

Sony going American was a huge mistake.

My first thought was I feel kinda bad cuz it will be confusing, but honestly it will only be confusing for a VERY short time, at least if it's someone who games regularly. Even when swapping between older PS consoles it will be easier than people think. People West of Asia have been rotating between PS and Nintendo for decades. When you hold a unique controller your fingers remember where to go, after a small amount of practice.

The only real issue here is that Sony is prioritizing their customer base to the West. If I were Japanese I would be annoyed that after all this time suddenly my Japanese platform is forcing Western practices on me. Feels like a sellout move, like their loyal fans in their home country are being undervalued. It must have been awkward to pitch this idea to Japanese higher ups lol.

I’m from the west, and I think this was a stupid change, since the beginning. Culturally, in Japan (And other places), where Playstation originated, the circle (maru) symbol is used as a yes/confirm/correct/good signifier. Whereas the cross (X, batsu) symbol is used as a no/cancel/incorrect/bad symbol.

Look at the Sanrio character Badtz-Maru for example. That penguin guy is always shown with X’s and O’s. Or any Japanese test or signage informing you of what is correct and what is incorrect. This page explains how Japanese teachers mark answers and gives some insight into JP vs US usage:

https://blog.japanesecreations.com/how-teachers-mark-answers-in-japan

Based on those ideas, and probably wanting to differentiate the button placement with Nintendo, Sony US changed the meaning of the buttons (and the pronunciation of X (cross to “ecks”, it’s in the naming conventions).

Now that Playstation is barely Japanese anymore (and I argue are more Western focused [where’s Japan Studio?]), they’ve gone all in. Things have been shifting this way behind the scenes since the PS2 era.

But really, why not have full button mapping? I think it has to do with ensuring it remains functional. It can be a pain to test and ensure it works in all regards. The designers need to consider that from the start. The text writers need to change the way button prompt messages are used. We used to have so many issues trying to stick to naming conventions when localizing from JP to EN, with people wanting to say press the (name the button) button message that usually ended up like:

Press [] (Square button) button.
Press the “X button” (X) button.

Instead of just:
Press []
Press the X button

It used to be a huge mess. Now they are trying to avoid that, but are taking the easy way out. With the Playstation brand now being more Western than Japanese (ads, sales, player base, dev base), they’s have a harder time switching western players on the configuration.

But they could (and should) be using button mapping already.

I had a launch PS3 model from Japan and it was interesting the way this impacted some games who seemed to have a single worldwide build and changed settings based on your consoles region.

For example quite a lot of games would swap the confirm and cancel buttons which could get confusing. The worst that I remember was red dead redemption which seems to use a mixture depending on what menu you were in. It took me 5-10 minutes to start playing.

Also some games would be censored. I had a U.K. bought copy of the original uncharted but it didn’t have blood when playing on my PS3.

Thats going to be a pain I imagine. Just thinking about if they did that here after 20+ years of doing the same thing would be tough to get used to.

And its pronounced "X" not cross ya heathens

On Switch it's A (which is on the O position), and I don't have any issue switching between Switch/Wii U and PlayStation. Maybe it's just me though.

Yuck! Button mapping works...but still causes headaches in some games...like fighting games when a kick and punch are swapped. I prefer O being my confirmation button personally. Instead of having to do remapping, I wish there was just a setting for confirm/cancel.

@Octane before I remapped, I had minimal trouble...but, oddly enough if I played anything on an Xbox I have the hardest time. I think because they kept the A,B,X, Y buttons.

Hmmm. I wonder if this will change some Japanese games using that for a menu and in game navigation. Otherwise I don’t have the energy to care that much.

Not going to say it's not a big deal because I don't live it Japan, maybe it will annoy people over there, maybe it won't. It is another middle finger to that market that and it's just disappointing to watch PlayStation continue to treat Japan like it doesn't matter, while MS, the American company, embraces it. Japanese games have been a huge part of PlayStation's success and niche titles like companies from Vanillaware attracted me to the brand as much as big hits like Twisted Metal in the PS1 days and GTA in the PS2 era. Room for all types of games to flourish but Sony has seemed to forgot that in recent years especially since Jim Ryan rose up the ranks.

So, it was like how I confirm and cancel with my Switch? Would make things easier for me to have a Japanese ps4, then

The Far East uses O as we use a tick (the X is a cross, the same as us)... not just on the PlayStation.
The West have been using it wrong for decades - it's us that should be forced to use the circle! X-D

I don’t think a lot of Japanese gamers are going to “complain” about this. Whether or not they hate the change. I’m just not sure why they did it. It seems silly to make this change now.

And no Nintendo does not need to follow suit; it’s already uniformed.

@Xiovanni It’s always been “Cross” to me. But I was that weird kid that read manuals..

@nessisonett This is the only correct answer.

Just like if you swap between playing on PS4/Xbox and a Switch. It happens. Adjust. Move along.

The PS4 BluRay player (In The West) has the X and O buttons swapped (compared to every other PS, and every other media app on the PS4). It is extremely annoying. Pick a style, I don't care, but pick one!

Once again I think westerners will complain far more about this than us in Asia. As it always seems to be.

Fact is, many games already have it swapped. So it’s better to have it standardized.

Edit: reading through Japanese comments, they seem largely fine with it. Because the most played games (fortnite and apex) force you to use x = confirm and o = cancel.

#firstworldproblems

Yep, PS doesn't really care about Japan anymore. No tgs, sega/xbox-ified controls....

Shame. Nintendo set the button standard, Sony continued it right in Japan, then broke it in the west.... Sega flipped everyone off and reversed it, xbox copied/was half designed by sega..... And now Sony just goes the backward way in Japan too.

It's confusing but manageable going back and forth between ps/xb and Nintendo in the west, but i can't imagine what it's like when the screen shows circle and "cross" and it means something different than it meant for 25 years. "Are you sure you'd like to delete your save data?". (X).......
(Insert trollface gif)

@Valhalla91 It would be hilarious if Sony made the USB-ports and disc-slot much smaller on the renders just to troll us into thinking it was gigantic.

I mean people will get used to it. I have a Japanese ps vita (it was the cheapest option on ebay at the time I got it), and while it's a touch annoying to hit circle in the menus it's not a huge deal. Same for playing ps1 squaresoft games.

@Grayjedi13 exactly.
As someone living in japan, what is far more annoying is that it’s inconsistent between games. That has to be fixed once and for all, I don’t care if they do it by forcing the western or the Asian way to achieve that.

Didn't we get the option to choose between O or X in a previous PS4 update?!
It was quite confusing when I play games on my JP PS Vita that's on an EU PSN and My EU PSTV that's on a JP PSN!!

Button mapping was patched into the Switch a few months ago...shouldn’t be a problem for Sony and PS5. The button mapping was necessary to address the same complaint made abouf Dark Souls Remastered for those not used to using B to confirm (X on PS) in an attempt to streamline controls across platforms, and NintendoLife players and staff weren’t happy about B to confirm and A (O on PS) to cancel before the system update.

Sony has the money and resources for the option to button map rather than force people into a set scheme.

Really?!?! This is disappointing.

I'm from south east asia. Of course i can play ps4 games from any region, but i always bought the asian versions because the "yes" button will be O instead of X. I'm always annoyed when playing NA versions because i always accidentally hit "no" instead of "yes".

I'm not stupid. Of course in the end i always adapted to each games. But it's over 20 years of muscle memory, man... I will screw up every now and then.

They should add 2 more buttons. Nothing to do with this article but the 6 button megadrive/genesis pad was brilliant!

This needs to be a changeable option. It’s that simple.

@Valhalla91 I will be pissed IF the Ps5 is smaller......... I have built an extension on my house to place this massive console!!!! LOL

@Hampie I have grown up on the Dark Souls franchise and I don't think I'd be able to play the game if X was sprint and dodge

@get2sammyb @TheIdleCritic I actually always thought it looked good. Sadly, I can't say the same about Peter Parker's new face.

I've messed up several times (including deleting, overwriting...) because it's the same on Xbox One and PS4 but the opposite on every recent Nintendo console so if you press buttons instinctively... Now Nintendo is the only platform on where accept is on the right but it's still confusing because it used to be on the left on SNES (and still is on SNES Classic).

Button mapping doesn't solve anything because if you see a button prompt on the TV while playing you actually shouldn't press that button. It would be funny (and I'd like it) if Nintendo went back to the SNES control scheme but letters are not the same as the Xbox controller anyway. For multiplatform gamers it's annoying because of the muscle memory and intuitive response. Of course, if you only play on one platform, no big deal.

I like O for confirm because that button is in the same spot as the A button from Nintendo consoles.

Considering how much multiplatform games that don't bother to remap buttons on Switch mess me up, I empathize with these poor Japanese gamers. B is not confirm to me, so I totally get why X isn't to them.

Wow I wish my life was as dull as John's to be able to consider this a "nightmare"

I can see Microsoft remapping their controller in Japan now.
B = Accept
A = Cancel

There's really no reason to do this or at least have a remapping option. I used to own a lot of Japanese games on my PSP to the point that I got so used to the O button being the accept/confirm button and X being the cancel button.

I'm really starting to think that Sony is becoming more of a Western company and abandoning the Japanese fans which kinda sucks.

Good that they have a standard now, but I hope we can remap the buttons too.

@Yayoi_KISARAGI I am an American gamer here in Japan, and I think it's ridiculous to change it. I much prefer the Japanese way. Not just because O should be OK, but also for placement reasons. I am very glad Nintendo kept it with the Switch.

@Hampie Really? You must not be a true gamer if you can't adapt to new control schemes.

I can't believe what I'm hearing from all your mouths. A true gamer adapts to change in consoles and doesn't complain like a little bitch. Everyone has become so piveledged these days I'm ashamed to be a human being. I think the Internet needs to be shut down.

Wish they'd include that option for Bomberman R on the PS4. X does nothing and you have to use Circle to lay down a bomb! Lazy Switch port...

@SprSynJn
Yes, I agree your opinion.
You know that symbol of “○” means yes, OK or good in Japan.
It’s so usual and practical !
But I play many foreign games.
Therefore I don’t maind the change.

@SprSynJn
I'm sorry, my reply is so late.

Why is this story x rated? I had my tissues at the ready only to be let down.

@soy Its somewhat annoying if i get games from asia but in the end i get used too it. I know its annoying but after a playing a game a few times.

@SprSynJn For me its not that way but when i import games from playasia i just adapt its not too hard.

@Ready_Player_One Inverted controls thats a crimean it made me hate Jak 2 never have and never will understand the logic.

@Yayoi_KISARAGI I am sorry that I never replied to your reply. I also play many foreign games, but I was surprised that Sony never made it possible to make O the default like they did on the PS3. And now they seem to have abandoned that idea entirely. I wish they would reconsider.

@SprSynJn Thank you for a polite reply!