PlayStation buttons have special meaning in Japan

By James Ransom-Wiley

Apparently, the common meaning of the PlayStation buttons was lost in translation. To any non-Japanese gamer, the buttons are just geometric symbols, but they have a deeper meaning in Japanese culture. Similar to how the tick and cross marks are used in the West to denote correct and incorrect, three of the PlayStation buttons are used in everyday notation. Here's the breakdown:

  • Cross (batsu) = "no good"

  • Triangle (sankaku) = "weak" OR "average"

  • Circle (maru) = "good" OR "satisfactory"

[Thanks, Dan]

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