Xbox One: New Menu And View Buttons Explained

Xbox One’s Menu and View buttons now have an explanation.

The Xbox One, or as skeptics are now calling it, the “Xbone,” has been covered in rumors since its inception, and they never seem to end. However, we may have what appears to be a solid answer about the console.

Shocking, isn’t it?

In place of the Back and Start buttons, the new Xbox One controller comes equipped with the same buttons, but now they serve different functions, technically. They’ve actually served the same purpose quite often, but the names have changed.

What was once the Back button is now dubbed “Menu,” which sums up the functions on the most part that the Xbox 360 buttons did. The Start button has been renamed “View,” which may or may not dramatically change what it does.

As far as the Start button, how many gamers actually used it instead of just pressing “A”?

While the button names sound specific, they are still basically “soft functions,” in that the developer can do whatever they want with them.

Microsoft told IGN about the new buttons:

“The Menu button could be used in scenarios such as bringing up in-game menus, showing video playback options and accessing commands on the console’s user interface. … Possible uses of the View button include viewing a map during a role-playing game, displaying a leaderboard in a first-person shooter and enhancing the navigation of the console’s user interface.”

Basically, it’s up to the developer to use the Menu and View buttons for whatever they want, but the name may indicate what they do. And this changes what, exactly? Either button’s functionality can change depending on how developers utilize it.

Technically all Microsoft did with the controller was rename the buttons and move the big “X” button up, but otherwise didn’t add anything.

What do you think of Microsoft changing the names of the Xbox One controller buttons to Menu and View?