Da Capo II
"Ai Space" is a collaborative effort from several companies that form the Ai Space Production Committee. The project is headed by the Dwango online service provider which developed the virtual world's infrastructure and Internet service support. According to Dwango's executive vice-president Toyoki Ōta, planning for the project began in 2006. The initial idea was to make a world like "Ai Space", but only incorporate the "Da Capo II" franchise, but this was changed to incorporate the "Clannad" and "Shuffle!" franchises as well. In 2006, Dwango was still primarily involved with the mobile phone industry, but were able to gain Internet service experience due to launching their subsidiary video sharing website Nico Nico Douga, which made it possible for "Ai Space" to move forward in development.