Have you ever wondered why so many video game controllers feature A, B, X & Y buttons rather than a straightforward A, B, C & D? Well, it turns out that there is actually a very good technical reason for it, one that you have to go back to 1993 to find.
With the exception of Sony controllers, most other gaming controllers use the A, B, X, Y layout, and for the most part gamers don’t even question it. From the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System right the way up to the Steam Deck, this system is pretty much the industry standard and has been that way for decades now.
If you find the design choice of controllers to include a X and Y buttons mysterious, imagine how gamers in the early 1990s felt.
A recent report by Time Extension revealed how user wrote in to Nintendo Power magazine to ask precisely this question in relation to SNES controllers, and the answer they received might surprise you.
It All Goes Back To CAD
Before the invention of magnificent websites like DualShockers, gamers had to rely on physical copies of magazines to get the latest news, updates and answers to their questions.
Nintendo Power was one of the longest-running video game news and strategy magazines, running for a total of 24 years between 1988 and 2007. These days, copies are more of a rarity and a collector’s item than anything else.
Back in 1993, a young reader from Texas named Kyle Miller posed them the question: “Why did you put the X and Y buttons on the Super NES control pad instead of C and D or something else?
In a well-considered response, the Nintedo writers revealed that the design choice was largely based on the developers’ familiarity with CAD software and the use of A/B as primary buttons, with X/Y serving a secondary function.
This is one example of “honest design”, where the process of creating something is also reflected in its final result, usually for reasons of practicality rather than style. It seems that for Nintendo, though, they managed to strike the perfect balance between the two.
In retrospect, the choice seems to make perfect sense and often makes game mechanics feel more intuitive to use, but the fact that this was being questioned in the early years proves that not everyone adapted so quickly.
So there you have it, no more will you have to wonder why your Xbox controller is missing a C or D button, and instead you can thank Nintendo for their decision to go with a design that has ultimately worked out for the better.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
