Environmental groups are up in arms over Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to roll back a host of environmental regulations, including the state’s e-waste law. The proposals to overturn environmental regulations were contained in a set of regulatory reform recommendations that the Republican governor sent to the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Regulatory Fairness and Reform. A spokeswoman for the governor told us that his office is working with lawmakers to “write up the language” for a bill that will seek to carry out the governor’s reform agenda.

Activision Blizzard’s new Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure title is the first in a range of products that blend toys with videogames in a bid to spark new interest in both categories, executives said Friday at a New York news briefing. Activision halted development of new Guitar Hero titles and pulled the plug on True Crime: Hong Kong (CED Feb 11 p6), setting the stage for a revival of its Spyro franchise to spur sales in an untapped market for products that blur traditional boundaries, the executives said. Activision acquired the Spyro franchise, which debuted on the original Sony PlayStation in 1998, when it bought Vivendi Universal Games three years ago. Nearly a dozen Spyro games based on a purple dragon have been released, selling more than 20 million units.

LAS VEGAS -- Activision Blizzard’s decision to scrap its ailing Guitar Hero business (CED Feb 11 p5) was called “sad” by game industry members at the Design Innovate Communicate Entertain (D.I.C.E.) Summit late last week. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences President Martin Rae said the 500 or so job cuts announced by Activision Blizzard as part of a “streamlining” of its Activision Publishing Division was just the latest sign that game companies continue to adapt to changes in the game landscape by shifting around their headcounts to different segments of their businesses.

Toshiba and RealD said this week they've worked together to integrate support for RealD’s stereoscopic 3D format in Toshiba’s Regza 3D TVs and accompanying active 3D eyewear. The companies are working together under a marketing agreement for Carmen in 3D, filmed at the Royal Opera House in London. Toshiba has presentation rights for the worldwide theatrical release and will have exclusive rights during an undisclosed promotional period to package the Blu-ray disc with some Toshiba-branded 3D TVs, laptops and Blu-ray players.

IPhone fever appeared fairly low-grade at one of the two largest Verizon Wireless stores in Manhattan early Thursday when doors opened on 34th Street for in-store sales of Apple’s 3G iPhone 4. Verizon had prepared for a much larger crowd, but most of the roughly 18 stanchions perched outside the store for crowd control remained stacked against a post in our 90 minutes at the store. When we arrived about 6:30 a.m., prior to the scheduled opening at 7 a.m., 14 consumers, many sipping hot coffee, stood in line braving 26-degree temperatures. The line was far shorter than we, and apparently Verizon, had anticipated.

LAS VEGAS -- One of the directors of the hit animated movie Kung Fu Panda questioned the need for 3D in most of the recent films that have used the technology, telling Consumer Electronics Daily at the Design Innovate Communicate Entertain (D.I.C.E.) Summit Thursday that he believed most of the 3D movies he’s seen have used the technology badly. The filmmaker, John Stevenson, also predicted that many consumers won’t use 3D in their homes until special glasses are no longer required.

The performance of Tritton Technologies game audio products “has greatly exceeded our expectations” since buying that company early this fiscal year, Mad Catz Interactive CEO Darren Richardson said Wednesday in an earnings call for fiscal Q3 ended Dec. 31. Tritton products “contributed over $20 million to our revenues” since May, and Mad Catz is “very excited about the potential of this brand, and [we] know there is significant upside ahead as we leverage our global distribution platform,” he said.

Sonic Solutions settled a series of shareholders lawsuits, potentially clearing the way for its $720 million sale to Rovi (CED Dec 27 p1), the company said in an SEC filing. Five suits were filed in Marin County Superior Court in California starting in early January, alleging Sonic’s board had breached its fiduciary duties by failing to maximize shareholder value and by approving the merger through an unfair process. The settlement terms weren’t disclosed.

Activision Blizzard will cut about 500 jobs, about 7 percent of its global workforce, in “streamlining” its Activision Publishing division through a plan that includes scrapping its ailing Guitar Hero business, Chief Operating Officer Thomas Tippl said in a Wednesday earnings call. The company’s “net headcount at the end of the year is probably not going to be materially different” from the more than 7,000 employees now, he said, because it’s “ramping up development teams around” the Blizzard Entertainment division’s new massively multiplayer online game and Activision Publishing’s Call of Duty initiatives.

Zoran urged stockholders to reject dissident shareholder Ramius’ effort to replace its board, saying Ramius nominees lack “substantive experience” with the company’s business and will advance a “short-term agenda,” according to an SEC filing.