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Ever wondered why it's ABXY and not ABCD on SNES controllers? And I presume on any other controller too that inherited this design choice?
One young reader of Nintendo Power in 1993 wrote in to ask.
What a CAD...
ALT
September 27, 2025 at 3:22 AM
That's actually really interesting. CAD design found its way into all sorts of things back then huh
Yeah! One connected explanation I've seen is that XY is more easily recognized in different languages due to its use in mathematics than CD would be.
I don't know if I buy this? Barr very likely had no input on the SFC controller design out of Japan, where it originated with the ABXY scheme.
Sure, Barr was responsible for the purple color scheme and indented XY buttons, but I will take this with salt until I hear from someone at R&D2...
Oh yeah, I doubt he's claiming credit for doing so. I've not seen anything confirming it in early Famitsu SFC reveals, but I was reminded that the buttons were at first ABCD.
XY is more universal for different languages, as they're used in mathematics, so I can see it being an explanation.
Oh fuck, I remember this letter! I love how sincere and informative the answer is.
Because sega added a C button. Everyone knows Nintendont what sega does.
I remember seeing that letter in NP magazine when I was little. Really showing off my age here, ha ha!
Interesting,not an answer i ever would have guessed. As a funny aside didn’t Neo-Geo buck this trend for its AES home systems?
It did.. I'm using the 8-bitdo replicas of those controllers and I actually disagree with the layout they chose too..
C D
A B
I think it would be better with
A D
B C
so the bottom three would be A B C and the top middle would still be D.. more ergonomic sense.. it's how I map controls anyway..