Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2015	Dec. 02, 2015
Entity Registrant Name	SIGMA DESIGNS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000790715
Trading Symbol	sigm
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-30
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		36,451,927
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Oct. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false