Why do controllers have the "back" button?

[Wayneguard]

I have...... never actually thought about that. Now that you mention it, 'back' makes no sense at all.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Without the Start button, how would we pause the game?

Well, if you are going off of that, then it should be called the 'pause' button.

Probably, but since X is confirm and O is cancel in most western games (which makes no sense) I think it's possible to live with illogical controller button names/functions.

wait..what?

your thumb is generally always on the X button anyways, so ergonomically having it as the confirm button only makes sense, and generally I've always heard that "X" is used when confirming something, e.g. on a ballet, so It makes sense in that context when you map it to the x button.

 

[subtlefuge]

Back just clarifies the button function more. Select could theoretically mean the same thing as start (and in many cases did).

 

[Something Amyss]

Plus, it's a "cross" button, not actually an "X."

Wut?

I have a friend that calls it a cross button. He never answered when I used to ask him why they'd have letters on their buttons that are obviously letters, but the "X" is supposed to be "cross". Wouldn't it fit the theme of the controller to have it be "X"?

He also calls "square" "box". I fucking hate him.

On the PS controllers, it's correctly called a cross. They are symbols. On the 360, it IS an X. I mean, we WERE talking about the controller with the "X" and the "O" on it. Something the Xbox lacks.

And crosses are more than just the Jeebus cross.

 

[Zeraki]

It's the select button... Microsoft just calls it the back button so they can feel like they're special.

Start button pauses the game, and select usually brings up the map/inventory/level up screen.

 

[Something Amyss]

You got your god in my video games!

Oh dear. Now I'm picturing a religious console. Cross, Jesus Fish, Trinity and Crown of Thorns. Not sure what they'd call the triggers, though.

 

[NotSoLoneWanderer]

Select and Back buttons have there uses but what was analog used for on PS2 controllers?

 

[-Samurai-]

On the PS controllers, it's correctly called a cross. They are symbols. On the 360, it IS an X. I mean, we WERE talking about the controller with the "X" and the "O" on it. Something the Xbox lacks.

And crosses are more than just the Jeebus cross.

Your face is a Jeebus cross.

I really just wanted an excuse to make those pictures. It's your controller. You can call the buttons whatever you want. Except for box...fuck box...it's square.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Controller

I found that pretty interesting. I didn't know that the buttons actually represented something and werent just Sony trying to be different. Triangle is point of view? I never would have guessed.

 

[-Samurai-]

You got your god in my video games!

Doesn't the PS3 one look oddly regular, though? It kinda fits.

 

[Moonmover]

On the NES, which was the first console AFAIK to have such a button, it was called "Select" because you actually used it to select menu items.

Nowadays, we cycle through menus using directional pads/joysticks/fancy mostion controls of teh futurze, so that's not relevent, but here is a question:

What would anyone gain by not including a select button on a next-generation console? That button is tiny and convenient, and it's one more tool for developers to use. It might not add much, but it also doesn't do any harm.

As for why it's called "Back" on the Xbox 360, I have no idea.

Plus, it's a "cross" button, not actually an "X."

Wut?

I have a friend that calls it a cross button. He never answered when I used to ask him why they'd have letters on their buttons that are obviously letters, but the "X" is supposed to be "cross". Wouldn't it fit the theme of the controller to have it be "X"?

He also calls "square" "box". I fucking hate him.

For some reason, this absolutely cracked me up. Give me a moment....must....breath....:-D

You should start calling the 'Y' button on your 360 controller the "Fork" button, just to see if he notices.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

The "start" button should speak for itself: It pauses the game. Sure, you could say, "Then why don't we call it the 'pause' button?" Well, the start button also starts the game, as it were. "Press PAUSE to start," that doesn't make much sense.
As for the "back/select" button, the most useful things I've seen it do is bring up the map in Assassin's Creed, which I find pretty useful, and bring up the entire RIG in Dead Space, which I find even more useful.