Sega Co-Founder David Rosen passed away
David Rosen, a Sega co-founder who helped turn the company from an importer of coin-operated machines into a global video game and arcade brand, died on December 25, 2025, at age 95, at his home in Los Angeles.
Rosen served as a United States airman during the Korean War and later remained in Japan, where he built a business around consumer entertainment and amusement machines. He founded a company in the 1950s that began with photo-related services and expanded into importing coin-operated equipment for installation in venues such as shops, restaurants, and cinemas.
In 1965, Rosen’s business merged with Nihon Goraku Bussan, also known as Service Games, and the combined operation became Sega. Over the years that followed, Sega shifted from importing arcade machines to developing and manufacturing its own titles, including early electromechanical and arcade releases. The company’s output included projects such as Periscope and Killer Shark, a game later featured in the 1972 film Jaws.
Rosen held a board role for decades, remaining involved in Sega leadership through the 1990s. During that period, Sega expanded its business beyond arcades and pushed into home consoles, including the Sega Master System and later the Sega Mega Drive, known as Genesis in the United States. The Genesis strategy leaned toward older players, and the company strengthened its United States operation through executive hires and a wider retail push.
In a 1993 interview, Rosen described Sega’s early focus on technical features that were not common at the time, including the use of sound effects and special effects in arcade games.
