This reminds me of how one shifted the Chevrolet and GMC trucks that had 4 speed transmissions and manufactured before mid 1947 into reverse. Low was on the top left; second was on the bottom left; third was on the top right; and fourth was on the bottom right. To shift into reverse, one put the lever in second gear position and pulled up on a lever on the gear shift.
As I remember, on the old VW Beetle, to shift into reverse, one pushed the shifter down and pulled it back toward the driver. I guess this is a modern day Nissan version of the old GM truck transmissions and the VW transmission.