January 5, 2026
Insert Coin to Pay Respects
Sega co-founder David Rosen dies aged 95
Fans swap tears, trivia, and 'One last Sega!' as gaming legend remembered
TLDR: Sega co-founder David Rosen has died at 95, prompting a wave of heartfelt tributes and trivia-fueled nostalgia. Fans mourned, learned that Sega means “Service Games,” and many were surprised he co-founded Sega globally—not just in the U.S.—underscoring his huge impact on arcades and home consoles.
The gaming world is mourning David Rosen, the co-founder of Sega and the man behind so many arcade-to-living-room moments, and the comments are turning into a digital wake. The vibe? Equal parts grief and geeky gratitude. One top mood-setter: simple, heartfelt tributes like “RIP, we will always remember him,” while others dropped Wikipedia and Sega links like confetti, sending everyone down memory lane. People are revisiting how Rosen went from running photo booths in post-war Japan to building Sega, the company that gave us sleek arcades and the Genesis console.
But the surprise twist lighting up the thread: a lot of folks didn’t realize Rosen co-founded Sega itself, not just the American branch. Cue humble confessions like “I assumed he co-founded Sega USA” and the collective gasp at the trivia bomb that “Sega” stands for “Service Games.” It’s a full-on “wait, what?” moment, with users correcting each other in real time — a friendly fact-check fest.
Nostalgia is pouring in for flashy arcade classics like OutRun, Space Harrier, and After Burner, plus that US name change from Mega Drive to Genesis. The jokes landed too: “Insert coin to pay respects” and the cheeky send-off, “One last Sega! for ya.” The comments read like a community high-score board of memories, thanks, and newly learned history — exactly the kind of legacy Rosen built.
Key Points
- •David Rosen, Sega co-founder and director until 1996, died aged 95 on Christmas Day.
- •Rosen founded Rosen Enterprises in Japan, merged with Nihon Goraku Bussan in 1965, forming Sega from its Service Games business.
- •Sega evolved from importing to designing arcade games, launching titles like Periscope, Outrun, and Virtua Fighter, and establishing its own arcades.
- •Rosen recruited Hayao Nakayama via the acquisition of Esco Trading; Nakayama led Sega Japan from 1983 to 1998.
- •Rosen drove Sega’s home console push: the Master System (successful in Europe/South America) and the Mega Drive, branded Genesis for the US, with Michael Katz brought in to lead efforts.