David Rosen was a former US Air Force Pilot turned entrepreneur who, along with Nihon Goraku Bussan founded Sega in the 1980’s. Rosen passed away on Christmas Day aged 95 at home in Los Angeles and was surrounded by his family.
Rosen established his company, Rosen Enterprises in Japan, and the business initially focused on importing photobooths to the US for identification purposes. Rosen then branched out into importing coin-operated arcade and pinball machines, and ended up collaborating with Nihon Goraku Bussan and his company ‘Service Games‘, which was then shortened to SEGA.
SEGA started out by manufacturing and importing arcade machines, but soon expanded into the console market in the 80’s with the eventual launch of the hugely successful Mega Drive. David Rosen remained at SEGA until retiring in 1996, shortly before the release of the Dreamcast, SEGA’s last foray into consoles.
In 2023, David Rosen was given a place in the ‘Amusement History Hall of Fame’ for his outstanding contributions to the industry. The legacy he leaves behind is one that will be hard to beat. Our thoughts are with David’s family and friends at this sad time.
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