During a four-decade career that began in the 1950s with coin-operated machines and culminated with the introduction of cutting-edge home gaming systems, Rosen was a visionary figure who helped shape what is now a $200 billion industry.
"It is eminently clear that computer video games are a sign of the times," he wrote in Play Meter magazine in 1982. "And by that I mean the games are truly one of the early manifestations of an electronic revolution whose technology will personally touch, on an increasing basis, all of our lives."
As chair of Sega's U.S. operation in 1989, Rosen oversaw the introduction of the company's Genesis gaming console to North America, a product that directly challenged the near-monopoly that Nintendo, its main competitor, had in American homes.
Sega marketed its system to teenagers and young adults who had played Nintendo as children, positioning Genesis as more technologically advanced, with a lineup of grittier, more intense games. In doing so, the company forged the creative and commercial blueprint that turned gaming into a cultural touchstone.
