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....
