Sega co-founder David Rosen passed away on Christmas Day, surrounded by his family, RePlay Magazine reports. He was 95.
Sega itself has paid tribute to Rosen with a post on social media:
Many others in the industry have followed suit, including Yuzo Koshiro, the composer behind titles such as Streets of Rage 2 and ActRaiser:
"It was Sega that led the me of my student days into the dreamlike space called the game center—a massive presence in my life. The memories of playing countless arcade games remain deeply etched into my soul even now. Without the culture that Sega built, especially the achievements of the Mega Drive era, neither I myself nor our company, Ancient, could have come this far. With deep gratitude and respect for Mr. David Rosen, I sincerely pray for his eternal rest."
Rosen served in the United States Air Force from 1948 to 1952, and was stationed in Japan and the Far East during the Korean War. After his service ended, he remained in Japan, establishing Rosen Enterprises in 1954. While the business initially focused on selling art and identification photos, it soon shifted to importing coin-operated amusement machines from North America.
In 1965, Rosen merged his business with Nihon Goraku Bussan, Ltd. (another Japanese firm founded by Americans, also known as Service Games) to create Sega Enterprises, Ltd., with Rosen serving as CEO and managing director.
Under Rosen's watch, Sega would grow to become one of the most influential and successful companies operating in the location-based amusement industry, and brokered the deal that saw Sega become part of the vast American conglomerate Gulf and Western Industries in 1969.
When Gulf and Western decided to sell off many of its assets following the death of its boss, Charles Bluhdorn, in 1983, Rosen teamed up with Hayao Nakayama and Isao Okawa to buy out the Japanese side of the company, creating Sega Ltd.
Rosen, who by this point had relocated to the United States, helped establish Sega of America and served as its chairman. He retained his director's role at Sega of Japan until 1996.
He retired in the '90s and lived in Los Angeles up until his death.