Sega posts tribute to co-founder David Rosen, a "true pioneer" of the industry, who passed away at 95: "We will always remember his contributions"

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He'd been industry since the mid-'50s

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
(Image credit: Sega)

Video games recently lost a titan in David Rosen, one of Sega's co-founders with a presence in the industry since 1957. He passed away on December 25, 2025, at the age of 95, and the house of Sonic the Hedgehog has paid tribute to a man integral to the company’s existence.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of David Rosen, one of the founders of Sega, and a true pioneer in the video game industry," Sega posts on Twitter. "Sega would like to offer its condolences to the family, friends and acquaintances of Mr. Rosen, and we will always remember his contributions to our company."

The growth of Rosen Enterprises led to a merger with Nihon Goraku Bussan, to become Sega, with Rosen himself as CEO and managing director. At this point, the outfit handled numerous kinds of games and gizmos, including pinball and jukeboxes, to much continued prosperity.

In the '80s, when home consoles started taking chunks out of the arcade’s earnings, Sega decided to make household systems, giving us the Master System, and the Blue Blur, who would become a pop culture icon. Rosen remained integral to Sega's operations through to the mid-'90s, helping set up Sega of America, where he was chairman, before retiring from that position and his role as president at Sega of Japan in 1996.

It's hard to imagine this medium being what it is today without Rosen. Beyond how much enjoyment he got to see from everyone loving Sega's games, he got to witness Sonic take over Hollywood, a guarantee that his legacy will continue for generations to come.

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Anthony McGlynn
Anthony McGlynn
Contributing Writer

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.

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