Obituary: David Rosen, businessman

David Rosen was the co-founder of Sega and a key figure in video game history. A New Yorker, Rosen’s entrepreneurship took flight when stationed in the Far East with the US Air Force. Once home he set up a successful company which initially imported Japanese art before diversifying into arcade games and slot machines. Rosen’s company merged with a Japanese firm, forming Sega, in 1965. Electronic games were beginning to alter the industry and Sega was at the vanguard. Rosen, as chief executive of the US company, worked closely with its Japanese counterpart and steered it through many mergers and acquisitions to become a big player in both game and console development. Rosen stepped down from his Sega America role in 1993, but remained a director of Sega Japan until his retirement in 1996. He died on December 25 aged 95. — Agencies/Allied Media