https://japantoday.com/category/tech/hit-japanese-app-crabhouse-forced-to-change-name-on-ios [logo] * News * Real estate * Hotels * Classifieds * Travel * Study * Jobs * Health Covid-19 Newsletter Signup Register / Login [ ] x Japan Today * National * Crime * Entertainment * Politics * Business * Tech * Sports * Tokyo 2020 Olympics * World * Features * Home * National * Crime * Entertainment * Politics * Business * Tech * Sports * Tokyo 2020 Olympics * World * Features + Lifestyle + Kuchikomi + New Products + Health + Food + Travel + Executive Impact + Opinions + Events * Special Promotion * Podcasts * Recent Comments * Popular Appearance JapanToday Higashi-Azabu IS bldg, 4F 1-8-1 Higashi-Azabu Minato-ku Tokyo 106-0044 Japan Tel: +81 3 5561 7755 Fax: +81 3 5561 7756 Email: editor@japantoday.com (c)2021 GPlusMedia Inc. [_w850] tech Hit Japanese app Crabhouse forced to change name on iOS Mar. 14 06:00 am JST Mar. 14 | 06:37 am JST 5 Comments By SoraNews24 TOKYO About a month ago, a hot new social media app took Japan by storm. Its name was Crabhouse, and it let you enter a virtual room - dare we say "clubhouse" - full of crabs. By tapping individual crustaceans, users can learn facts about these fascinating animals or simply what's on their minds. We too joined the rapidly growing ranks of Crabhouse members, and learned firsthand why it had gotten over 150,000 downloads and nearly 2,000 five-star reviews on the App Store. However, on Feb 22, the Crabhouse trend hit a major speed bump, as announced in a distressed tweet by the developer who goes by the name "Gai." V "The Crabhouse update was rejected by the App Store! 'The name is confusing' was the reason! LOL But there are already other apps that go beyond that by having the exact same name as Clubhouse, so why is mine the 'confusing' one? How do I overturn this?! Engineers, help!" Screen Shot 2021-03-12 at 10.07.25.png SoraNews24 also looked into the matter and discovered that indeed there is another social media app called Clubhouse that seems to have developed a bit of a following. Frankly, it seemed kind of stupid because there wasn't a single crab in sight, but to each their own. V The number of crabs are dependent on the number of devices using Crabhouse at the time, and the room itself is based on one you might find in the RPG Mother. crab.jpg To English-speakers' eyes the difference between "Crabhouse" and "Clubhouse" are quite clear, but that's not necessarily the case in other languages. In Japanese, the pronunciation of the letters "l" and "r" are largely interchangeable, as are the English vowels "a" and "u" in many cases. "Crab" and "club" is one such case and to make matters worse, when rendered in Japanese katakana script they become identical: kurabuhausu. V Japanese users' eyes would likely lock onto the "kurabuhausu" below before mentally registering the "Crabhouse" above. Photo-2021-02-10-12-47-24.jpg Since the other apps Gai found were different types of apps, such as games and project management software, it was okay for them to have similar names, kind of like how there's an Asahi beer and Asahi newspaper. Even though Crabhouse and Clubhouse each contain completely different phylums of animals, Apple presumably took issue with the similar "bunch of things in a single space" concepts and sided with Clubhouse, the one that came first. According to comments online, we weren't the only ones able to link Crabhouse with Clubhouse, but opinions were divided on whether Apple made the right call or not. "Ah! My crabs!" "I guess they decided it was a rip-off of Clubhouse." "This is a common story for developers. Their criteria is trend-oriented and lacks fairness." "It's sad about the name, but I still support them." "Apple is an American company and even they can't distinguish L and R?" "I don't know the intentions of Crabhouse, but this system is necessary to prevent the App Store from being flooded with rip-off apps piggybacking on trending names." "But Apple has been ripping off the Big Mac for decades and getting away with it." "He should call it Crabhorse instead." "Apple is famous for suddenly banning apps that were previously approved. It depends on their mood." Apple didn't ban Crabhouse outright, despite their issue with the name. They simply refused to allow Gai to update it, unless he did so with a revised name. Not wanting to compromise his vision, Gai stubbornly hung onto Crabhouse initially, much like a hard-shelled crustacean whose claw was tenaciously clamped on a struggling starfish. Strangely enough, even while they were holding progress of Crabhouse hostage due to its name, Apple continued to promote it to other iOS users. V "Apple just recommended Crabhouse to me." Screen Shot 2021-03-12 at 10.16.17.png It would appear the worry that his Crabhouse users weren't getting the full crab experience without the proper updates got to him over time, and Gai finally capitulated, changing the name to Crabhome in early March. Luckily, this is only for iOS devices, and the Android version will remain as Crabhouse because Google is just chill like that. Crabhome.jpg Source: iPhone Mania, Twitter/@kamibukuro18, Hachima Kiko Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Crabs take over electric signboard at Japanese train station -- Hide stubborn iPhone apps with this handy trick -- Apple still lets video game developers keep their loot box odds a secret in Japan * External Link * https://soranews24.com/2021/03/11/ hit-japanese-app-crabhouse-forced-to-change-name-on-ios/ (c) SoraNews24 (c)2021 GPlusMedia Inc. [ZzqNR6] MBA in Kyoto 100% English MBA will advance your career at Doshisha Business School Kyoto Focus on Sustainability, Culture & Creativity or Business in Asia. Scholarships Available. Learn More --------------------------------------------------------------------- * Sort by * Oldest * Latest * Popular 5 Comments Login to comment [0ad744] [0ad74] dagon Mar. 14 07:46 am JST Like clubs in a bucket. 3 ( +3 / -0 ) [deb3c0] [deb3c] gokai_wo_maneku Mar. 14 10:19 am JST Rename the app "Kanihouse" (Xie hausu)! ("kani" means "crab") 5 ( +5 / -0 ) [66d4b6] [66d4b] BertieWooster Mar. 14 07:58 pm JST Yawn! 2 ( +2 / -0 ) [523202] [52320] Thomas Goodtime Today 06:46 am JST Android version will remain as Crabhouse because Google is just chill like that. Please write properly...'chill like that'....oh no 2 ( +2 / -0 ) [660bcd] [660bc] starpunk Today 06:51 am JST There can be confusion or worse when you're dealing with a foreign language. In late 1979 Masaya Nakamura had a popular video game that would be monumental in cultural impact. It was first called 'PUCKMAN' but since some jerks in English-speaking countries would've vandalized the consoles to create an obscene term not known in Japanese, the translated spelling was altered to 'PAC-MAN'. 0 ( +0 / -0 ) Login to leave a comment Facebook users Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts. Facebook Connect Login with your JapanToday account [ ] [ ] [ ]Remember Me Forgot password? [Log In] User registration --------------------------------------------------------------------- [pvNWJz] MBA in Kyoto 100% English MBA will advance your career at Doshisha Business School Kyoto Focus on Sustainability, Culture & Creativity or Business in Asia. Scholarships Available. Learn More Tech [_w270_h190] Today 06:00 am JST Today | 07:05 am JST 0 Comments A scarf that speaks? Scientists develop message display fabric Today 05:47 am JST Today | 07:05 am JST 0 Comments Outgoing CEO says Panasonic must cut Tesla reliance as battery tie-up evolves [_w270_h190] Mar. 13 06:00 am JST Mar. 13 | 06:42 am JST 2 Comments With green energy, Fukushima governor wants to take prefecture out of nuclear shadow View all Popular China says it is exercising self-restraint against Japanese ships near Senkakus 88 Comments Mississippi becomes first U.S. state to ban transgender athletes from women's sports 103 Comments Major Biden victory as Congress passes huge COVID relief plan 104 Comments Popularity of Harry and Meghan plummets in UK after Oprah interview, poll says 63 Comments Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics without overseas spectators 100 Comments View all Articles, Offers & Useful Resources A mix of what's trending on our other sites [_w425] Ask Hilary Letters from Japan: White Day Questions Savvy Tokyo [_w425] Tweet of the Week 121: System Failure Hits 5,000 Mizuho Bank ATMs GaijinPot Blog [_w425] 2021 Top Jobs in Japan Week 10 GaijinPot Blog [_w425] Tohoku GaijinPot Travel [_w425] Sponsored Post Plan A Post-Pandemic Retreat In Northern Okinawa Savvy Tokyo [_w425] 10 Years After the Great East Japan Earthquake GaijinPot Blog [_w425] How Much Is the Average Rent in Tokyo? GaijinPot Blog [_w425] History Gunkanjima (Hashima Island) GaijinPot Travel [_w425] Outdoors Top 5 Tohoku Destinations to Visit in 2021 GaijinPot Travel [_w425] What's Happening This Week: At Home And Around Tokyo For March 8-14 Savvy Tokyo [_w425] Nagasaki GaijinPot Travel [_w425] Sponsored Post Here's How You Can Contribute To Okinawa's Sustainable Islands Savvy Tokyo * National * Crime * Entertainment * * Politics * Business * Tech * * Sports * Tokyo 2020 Olympics * World * Features * + Lifestyle + Kuchikomi + New Products + + Health + Food + Travel + + Executive Impact + Opinions + Events * (c)2021 GPlusMedia Inc. * Privacy * Terms of Service * * Moderation Policy * Guang Gao Jie Zai /Advertise * Zong He An Nei /About us * Bian Ji Bu /Contact us * Yun Ying Hui She /Company Profile