Sega co-founder David Rosen passed away at the age of 95 on Christmas Day (25.12.25), it has been revealed.
Sega co-founder David Rosen has died at the age of 95.
The gaming pioneer passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Christmas Day (25.12.25), according to his spokesman Brad Callaway.
His funeral was held on January 2.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Rosen was an airman in the US Air Force before starting the Rosen Enterprises company in Japan.
The company began by selling Japanese art to the US market and provided photography for Japanese IDs. However, it would soon shift its focus to importing arcade games from the US to Japan.
The move led to Rosen being credited as a founding father of the Japanese arcade scene and an important figure in the arcade industry as a whole.
He was recognised with a place in the Amusement Industry Hall of Fame, which was established to “recognise and honour those who have made outstanding contributions to the coin-op and location-based entertainment industry”.
Rosen claimed that there wasn’t a single Japanese city that didn’t have one of his arcade machines as he had a virtual monopoly until competition arrived years afterwards.
In the 1960s, Rosen’s arcade success saw him approached by the company Nihon Goraku Bussan – which was based in Hawaii and was looking to merge with Rosen’s firm.
Since Nihon Goraku Bassan had acquired its predecessor Service Games and was bigger than Rosen’s company – it was decided to use Service Games as the new name, which was later shortened to Sega.
Rosen was made CEO and president of Sega as the company released its first arcade game Periscope in 1966.
It was initially only available in Japan before arriving in the US in 1968 and proving extremely popular.
Sega soon entered the video game console market and found huge success with Sega Mega Drive.
Rosen was in charge of Sega’s console efforts during the 1980s and 1990s until after the launch of the Sega Saturn in 1995.
By then, Rosen and his family had relocated to Los Angeles – with the gaming chief setting up Sega of America before retiring from the company in 1996.
Sega co-founder David Rosen dead at 95
