PC Data, a market research company that tracks sales data for technology products, has released a report claiming that the Sega Dreamcast's weekly sales have more than doubled on the eve of the PlayStation 2 launch. The console's weekly unit sales rose 156.5 percent between the weeks of July 23 and September 30. During that period Sega moved into the second spot in overall console revenue, ahead of Nintendo. In fact, in the five weeks since the price reduction of the Dreamcast console to US$149.99, the company's market share was 29.9 percent of all unit sales and 39.7 percent of revenue. Sony's share also rose, likely as a result of the release of the PSOne on September 17, to 49.0 percent in unit sales and 42.3 percent in revenue, and Nintendo 64 saw its share decline to 20.8 percent and 17.9 percent for unit sales and revenue respectively.

　　"Sega has made a bold yet necessary move in staking its claim on the gaming market in preparation for the upcoming launch of PlayStation 2," said Matt Gravett, game analyst for PC Data. "PS2 will be huge, but if initial results are any indication, Sega has positioned itself perfectly if speculation of PS2 shortages are realized."

　　Sega of America president Peter Moore recently addressed Sega's interest in attracting consumers who will not be able to get their hands on a PlayStation 2 this holiday season. Following the announcement of the PlayStation 2 shortage, Moore told GameSpot, "The thing we're looking at right now is to make sure that we have the right amount of inventory in our distribution centers around the US. We want to be able to take care of any business that Sony leaves on the table, and there does seem to be quite a bit of that."

　　Since January, the Dreamcast has secured 16.4 percent unit share of the console market and 27.7 percent of the revenue, the Nintendo 64 has a unit share of 36.4 percent and revenue share of 32.2 percent, and the PlayStation continues to lead the market with a unit share of 47.0 percent and revenue share of 39.9 percent during that period. According to PC Data, the spike in sales of Dreamcast consoles is due to the price reduction and the introduction of the SegaNet ISP and gaming service.