Sony has finally settled the long-standing debate on what the symbols on the PlayStation's gamepad are called, particularly the button with the "X" marker.
The tech company asked its followers on Twitter on what they call the X button, which is the most commonly used on the DualShock gamepad to affirm player actions. An overwhelming number (81 percent) of fans said it was "X", while 12 percent hilariously said it was the "+ rotated 45°".
Only 8 percent of PlayStation's Twitter followers said it was the "cross," which apparently is the correct answer.
Ecks Vs. Cross
PlayStation folks have always referred to the button as "cross" and not "ecks". However, not a lot of people outside of the company knew about the right name on the gamepad. This can be seen in how fans and even game journalists have called it the X button for years.
Other well-known tech products have dealt with some misconceptions about their branding. For instance, people tend to read the Apple OS X operating system as "oh ess ecks," while they call the iPhone X as "iPhone ecks."
In reality, Apple considers the X symbol on its branding as the Latin symbol for the number 10 instead of the letter "X". This means the OS X is actually read as "OS ten" and the iPhone X as "iPhone ten."
The X Button Debate
Despite Sony's ruling on the matter, some fans weren't shy about giving their two cents regarding the debate.
When Twitter user @drip133 asked whether people call the button "X" or "cross", @gleem643D answered by referring to it as "fork". He also posted an image showing a controller's internals, where the X placement on the board is marked with "Fork". This was later debunked by other commenters who noted that the picture doesn't really show an official PlayStation gamepad.
User @Real_The_Goof said he calls it cross because the other buttons on the PlayStation gamepad are marked with shapes and not letters like those seen on the Xbox or Nintendo consoles.
Meanwhile, @EdwardLorn offered a fair point that the name of the button should be what consumers use and not necessarily what the creator calls it. He explained that once a name is adopted by the public, it becomes the norm.
Some fans jokingly called those who said it was the cross button as "cops", while others pointed out the absurdity of getting passionate and riled up about the "cross" versus "ecks" debate.
For what it's worth, PlayStation UK also chimed in on the argument. However, instead of helping settle the debate, its Twitter account decided to blow fans' minds even further.
"Triangle. Circle. Cross. Square," PS UK wrote.
"If Cross is called X (it's not), then what are you calling Circle?"
