For creating the controller design itself was more complicated than designing the console. "The Super NES was a huge hit at the time, and naturally we wanted SNES gamers to upgrade to our system," Goto said. "That's why the management department didn't want the controller to be a radical departure -- they said it had to be a standard type of design, or gamers wouldn't accept it."

 

However, Goto ignored the management’s demand for a flat, Nintendo-like controller, instead, he made his own design, a controller with grips on each end. He then showed his design to Sony’s boss that time, Norio Ohga. Ohga liked his design, especially with the grips, as he really liked the grips on the controller because it let him get a 3D-style grasp on the situation."

In other side, the management declined Goto’s design. “They told me that the grip design was simply no good, that gamers wouldn't like it," Goto said. "We did wind up switching to a flatter controller design, and that survived all the way to the point where it was time to start making molds.” Until Goto showed the flat controller design to Ohga during a ‘creative report’, Ohga was totally livid at him. 

 

'This is no good! Change it! What was wrong with what you showed me earlier?' He wants the design Goto had shown him earlier. "Despite that," Goto continued, "management's opinions didn't change at all. They showed Ohga the flat controller again later and said that this is what they wanted, but Ohga was about to throw the model right back at them. I was there and I didn't want him to break the model, so I stopped him, but looking back, I think that was Ohga's way of saying 'Hang in there, Goto' to me. Management was still pretty peeved, but they felt like they had no choice but to follow him." Then, why the buttons have to be symbols, not alphabets nor colors like in SNES or other consoles?

 

We wanted something simple to remember, which is why we went with icons or symbols, and I came up with the triangle-circle-X-square combination immediately afterward,” so that he gave each symbol a meaning and a color. The triangle refers to viewpoint; I had it represent one's head or direction and made it green. Square refers to a piece of paper; I had it represent menus or documents and made it pink. The circle and X represent 'yes' or 'no' decision-making and I made them red and blue respectively.” The trend continues until PS3 age nowdays, and proven to be very successful afterwards.

 

By SandG.