PC Data, in co-operation with Games Business Magazine, released a report today concerning the future of the next crop of video game systems to hit the market. The companies surveyed 1,500 home Internet users from May 15 to May 18 about whether or not they plan to buy one of the upcoming new console systems, and if so, which one. Of the respondents, the percentage of users planning on buying a particular system is: PlayStation 2 -- 63 percent Dreamcast -- 22 percent Dolphin -- 17 percent Xbox -- 12 percent (Note that this does not mean respondents were choosing one system over another as many planned on buying more than one)

　　Other findings in the survey indicate that 75 percent are interested in online gaming. Of that number, 45 percent said that they were "somewhat interested," while 30 percent said they were "very or extremely interested." Additionally, 46 percent of those surveyed said they would spend more time playing games if the games were online. Sixty-three percent said they are planning on purchasing a new system within the next six months to a year, while only 33 percent of these said they would spend more than US$200 on a system.

　　The most popular genres among the gamers surveyed were strategy (60 percent), RPG (47 percent), racing (45 percent) and first-person shooter (43 percent). More than half of the panel (54 percent) said they would consider signing up for console Internet access for at least one year in exchange for free hardware. A plan that Sega of America announced it would implement along with the full-scale launch of SegaNet.

　　"The online gaming experience should elevate the console market to the next level, with new and abundant revenue opportunities for manufacturers," said Matt Gravett, PC Data's game analyst. "However, consumers are not expecting to pay more to play online via the next generation of consoles. Hardware prices and Internet access costs must be kept low or else the online console gaming movement could stall."