The confirm button on PS5 will be X instead of O going forward in Japan

[Lordidude]

1 hour ago, Soraking1991 said:

 of PlayStation, we use X to say "no" or "cancel" in everything we do (especially online).

 

Worldwide: 

YES =>  => 

NO =>  => 

 

Japan:

YES =>  => 

NO =>  => 

 

Also the Square is for menus (which is why it is a square).
And triangle for the point of view - perspective change.

[AiManiaTrophyhuntres]

1 hour ago, Soraking1991 said:

That is true for all PlayStations other than the Japanese. On their behalf you could say the same thing: "it has always been O to confirm, so why change it all of a sudden?". They even use those symbols with those meanings in their everyday life (outside PlayStation).

 

Again, outside of PlayStation, we use X to say "no" or "cancel" in everything we do (especially online).

 

Worldwide: 

YES =>  => 

NO =>  => 

 

Japan:

YES =>  => 

NO =>  => 

 

 

Given that PlayStation has decided to change this, I would make it so that we ignore what we've known for forever (in PlayStation) and change it to what makes more sense in this world of symbols we live in.

im with this, i hope for years we would change to the japanese way, bc it was more logical to me and my first game was FF7 on PS1 so I started on PS1 with japanese conrolls before I played anything else and was confused

[diskdocx]

I don't know about this. I mean, as a North American gamer I am very much used to X as the default for accept and O as the default to cancel. It is probably partially muscle memory, but it does feel like that is the more logical default for where your thumb would be when holding a controller. Switching to any of the other 3 face buttons for the dominant action would be annoying (like when you play a game where O is jump not X - very awkward)

 

Anyway, I'm not sure how Japanese gamers would feel - if their muscle memory has set them up to automatically go to O, then this is going to mess with them and seems unfair to force a switch.

 

As someone who has played a number of imports, I always feel like I am a guest in their game and really  it isn't that hard to switch over. After a few mistakes, you sort it out. The only time I've really struggled is when doing a series of stacks in a row - having the last stack be the Japanese version is a double whammy - not only are the buttons different but since you are replaying a game you just finished in another region, it seems doubly difficult to retrain your brain.

 

Again though, that feels like my problem not something that needed a change for gamers from their own region.

 

Maybe at the end of the day this is all a big shrug, but I'd really like to hear from some of the Japanese gamers how they feel. It does seem like Sony is catering to the Western market with a number of these decisions. Their stance on censorship is even more Westernized, especially when you see Nintendo now going in the opposite direction. Even Microsoft is less puritan. But that's another conversation.

[starcrunch061]

On 10/4/2020 at 5:49 AM, Ghost said:

 

AV Watch - https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=ja&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fav.watch.impress.co.jp%2Fdocs%2Fseries%2Frt%2F1280705.html&sandbox=1

 

Thank God. 2 generations too late, if you ask me, but better late than never.

 

I despise using "O" instead of "X" for my Japanese games on PS3. 

[Undead Wolf]

Quite a baffling decision. Presumably this is just going to apply to PS5's UI navigation and Japanese devs will continue using circle as confirm in their games. Circle as confirm and cross as cancel makes far more sense than having it the other way around, especially in Japanese culture. The button placement for confirm/cancel is also how it's done on Nintendo platforms. They're asking Japanese people to unlearn decades of muscle memory for no real benefit. Combine this decision with Sony's censorship policy that pretty much exclusively targets Japanese games and I'm starting to think they hold contempt for the Japanese audience. Good luck trying to sell PS5's in Japan...

[starcrunch061]

On 10/4/2020 at 7:10 AM, Super-Fly Spider-Guy said:

We did it, boys! Finally, those Japanese fuckers will do it the right way, the American way, just the way the PlayStation was always intended.

 

Damn straight.

 

1 minute ago, Undead Wolf said:

Quite a baffling decision. Presumably this is just going to apply to PS5's UI navigation and Japanese devs will continue using circle as confirm in their games. Circle as confirm and cross as cancel makes far more sense than having it the other way around, especially in Japanese culture. The button placement for confirm/cancel is also how it's done on Nintendo platforms. They're asking Japanese people to unlearn decades of muscle memory for no real benefit. Combine this decision with Sony's censorship policy that pretty much exclusively targets Japanese games and I'm starting to think they hold contempt for the Japanese audience. Good luck trying to sell PS5's in Japan...

 

So much the better. I get what I want for the 1-2 games I import, and Sony might have further trouble, requiring them to change their absurd policies.

Edited October 5, 2020 by starcrunch061

[DaivRules]

Sony hasn't barred developers from allowing users to map their controls, right?

 

Would be nice if, just like requiring Remote Play for all PS4 titles, Sony required all developers to allow user button mapping (including Inversion!!) so that a change like this is at most a minor inconvenience to anyone, as they would be able to change their controls to what is familiar with them.

[Caesar Clown]

It doesn't exactly help if you play multiple consoles. For Nintendo B is still cancel and A is still confirm, and B is where X is and A is where O is.

[starcrunch061]

5 minutes ago, DaivRules said:

Sony hasn't barred developers from allowing users to map their controls, right?

 

Would be nice if, just like requiring Remote Play for all PS4 titles, Sony required all developers to allow user button mapping (including Inversion!!) so that a change like this is at most a minor inconvenience to anyone, as they would be able to change their controls to what is familiar with them.

 

Pfft. You and your reasonable ideas.

[VegaMan-X4]

I imported my PS4 from Japan. Was never a big deal to adapt to 2 buttons swap between it and other PS consoles. Just like it was never a big deal while playing imported jananese games on any other console. 

Unnecessary change. Pretty sure there will still be a confusion, with devs and their in-game mapping.

[peffsi]

One of the things I would've hoped to see on PS5 is the option for totally customizable button-mapping in every game. Whether on a system level, or mandated to be in every PS5 game. (The lame button-mapping on PS4 is not that useful because it doesn't change in-game button prompts)

Anyway, I don't think it's that big a deal, although it seems a bit strange to make this change now. I have alternated between Japanese (import) games and Western games before. I even own an American Vita and a Japanese Vita. After a couple of mistakes my brain rewires to the correct buttons.

[cckerberos]

I remember when this difference meant that the original RDR couldn't be platinumed on a bunch of systems for almost a year.

 

Anyway, it's stupid that they're forcing Japan to change.

[Neef-GT5]

Mmmmmm...

OK.

Is it rude not to give a damn about this?

 

[Cryogenicide_X]

This just further adds to the point that PlayStation is becoming more and more western and less and less Japanese. PlayStation is a Japanese console at the core but things really are changing. Ever since Sony moved the PlayStation headquarters into America from Japan is when all this started. 

 

I wish PlayStation was still operated in Japan, it was a lot better then.

[starcrunch061]

14 minutes ago, Neef-GT5 said:

Mmmmmm...

OK.

Is it rude not to give a damn about this?

 

 

It is, but we'll accept it...

...

...this time...

[You]

I don't know why they don't use the opposite way around and have best of both worlds by having both Circle and X as Select, and have Triangle as Back.

 

Most of my early PSX games had triangle as Back. Pretty sure that's how the Resident Evil games were.

[Honor_Hand]

That's cool, I see they're looking to have a worldwide standard in regards to that. To be fair, I'm fine either way. I'm already accustomed to accept things on PlayStation with and cancel things with . Even if it had been the other way around and we were the ones having to adapt to a different mapping for these options, I wouldn't have a problem with that either.

 

It's muscle memory, yes, but come on, how much does it take you to get used to it? A few minutes, maybe? At least a week at most?

 

I can see why Japanese gamers would be pissed, though. It must suck to be forced to change from something you grew up with. But then again, it's just a button...

[ZN-42-VS]

21 hours ago, Soraking1991 said:

That is true for all PlayStations other than the Japanese. On their behalf you could say the same thing: "it has always been O to confirm, so why change it all of a sudden?". They even use those symbols with those meanings in their everyday life (outside PlayStation).

 

Again, outside of PlayStation, we use X to say "no" or "cancel" in everything we do (especially online).

 

Worldwide: 

YES =>  => 

NO =>  => 

 

Japan:

YES =>  => 

NO =>  => 

 

 

Given that PlayStation has decided to change this, I would make it so that we ignore what we've known for forever (in PlayStation) and change it to what makes more sense in this world of symbols we live in.

 

With all the respect for the Japanese market, Sony has made its decision based on gathered information, so why don’t we ask Sony to comment?

 

Wouldn’t you like to know the results of their surveys, investigations, etc.?

[ziggypossum]

Sony Is Changing The Confirm And Cancel Buttons In Japan And Folks Aren't Happy

https://kotaku.com/sony-is-changing-the-confirm-and-cancel-buttons-in-japa-1845273030

 

 

In the West, the X button has long been the PlayStation’s button to confirm selections, actions, and more. But, ever since the original PlayStation went on sale in Japan in 1994, there the circle button has been the action button. That is going to change.

 

Famitsu and AV Watch are reporting that in Japan the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller will change its action button from circle to X to bring the region into global uniformity with the international market. A Sony spokesperson explained that the decision was made to avoid different button settings across countries, as well as easing the burden for developers.

 

Culturally, there is a longstanding explanation for this difference. In Japan, the circle or maru means “okay” or “correct.” However, the X symbol means “no good” or “wrong.” In Japanese, the X button is called the batsu botan, which Sony translates as the “cross button.” However, in Japan, batsu is the opposite of maru and can mean “no”, “no good”, and “not available”. For players in Japan, using the circle button as the confirm button makes perfect sense, as does X for cancel.

 

Yet, outside of Japan, “X” can mean “X marks the spot”, and while Sony insists X button is the ‘cross’ button, for players outside Japan it makes sense as the action button.

 

Understandably, many players in Japan are not happy about this decision. On the Japanese webform 2ch and popular game sites like My Game News Flash and Hachima many people voiced their frustration—though some did support the decision as they’ve become used to the button reversal by playing foreign games, especially on PC.

“What a pain in the ass.”

“For Japan, do it Japanese style.”

“At last they’re making it uniform? Japan has been defeated.”

“Change foreign games. Foreign games did this on their own accord.”

“This helps me because I always get them confused (when playing foreign games).”

“One less reason to buy the PS5.”

“This really confuses Japanese people.”

“Well, internationally this is the standard. Up to now, Japan has been weird.”

“I’m totally gonna screw this up.”

“Yep, trash.”

“I’ll get used to this in five minutes.”

“More distain of Japan from fucking Sony.”

“I’m not buying a PlayStation anymore.”

“This is the same as on Windows.”

“This is hard to get my head around. Why not just move the buttons?”

“I’ll get used to this quickly.”

“Sony traitors.”

“Foreigners should become uniform with Japan.”

“Good news. This is just like with Steam.”

“I’m not going to get used to this.”

“If it’s the default, that can’t be helped, but make it so this can be changed in Settings.”

“They need to get rid of using the circle and the X buttons. Use ABCD. In Japan, circle means confirm.”

“This is discrimination.”

“The PS5 is made by a foreign company...?”

“I really hate this. X is cancel. Circle is confirm. They’re out of their minds.”

“This is a bullshit console.”

“Circle is confirm. X is cancel. This is easy to understand.”

“Proof that they’re looking at Japan as a small market.”

“I think X as confirm is good. I’ve gotten used to that through playing PC games, so now using circle as confirm feels strange.”

“Make circle confirm and X cancel. I do not care what’s done internationally.”

“I’ve been waiting for this.”

“It’s a Japanese console, so conform to Japan.”

“Stop fucking around.”

“If they keep it like this forever, I don’t care one way or the other.”

“But it’s a Japanese console...”

“This means that the circle on the Japanese flag is now ‘cancel.’”

“The first happy news of the year.”

“Well, that decides it. The PS5 is going to be a failure.”

“Things will be okay.”

Edited October 6, 2020 by ziggypossum

[Japanime_Gamer]

Surprised that it's not an option in all configure button menus that way everyone can play how they want.

[starcrunch061]

6 hours ago, ziggypossum said:

Culturally, there is a longstanding explanation for this difference. In Japan, the circle or maru means “okay” or “correct.” However, the X symbol means “no good” or “wrong.” In Japanese, the X button is called the batsu botan, which Sony translates as the “cross button.” However, in Japan, batsu is the opposite of maru and can mean “no”, “no good”, and “not available”. For players in Japan, using the circle button as the confirm button makes perfect sense, as does X for cancel.

 

Yet, outside of Japan, “X” can mean “X marks the spot”, and while Sony insists X button is the ‘cross’ button, for players outside Japan it makes sense as the action button.

 

That is the biggest stretch I think I've ever seen. The fact is, "X" is almost always "wrong", in any culture. 

 

I've been messing around here a bit, but honestly, there is no good reason for Sony to change this around in Japan. None.

[Lava_Yuki]

I play all my games in Japanese and am so used to the O button, so this is going to take some getting used to. 

[saiyanbloodstyle]

Annoying to get used to for Japan because if the update was the other way round and we all changed to how it was in Japan it would be very annoying for us.