"Even though certainly people are still feeling the effects of the economy,” Martin Rae, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), said game industry members are “more optimistic coming out of last year” into 2011. And that optimism is “across the board -- internationally as well” as the U.S., he told Consumer Electronics Daily just before the start of his organization’s Design Innovate Create Entertain (D.I.C.E.) Summit in Las Vegas this week.

Ultimate Electronics is seeking liquidation, which would set 46 stores loose into a saturated retail real estate market, providing openings for expansion-minded regional CE chains, industry officials said. The chain filed a motion late Friday seeking to liquidate. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Walrath in Wilmington, Del., is expected to consider the request at a hearing Friday.

Coinstar remained optimistic about Blu-ray and videogame rentals at its Redbox kiosks, but CEO Paul Davis said in a Thursday earnings call that Blu-ray demand was weaker than expected in Q4 ended Dec. 31. Redbox started renting Blu-ray titles in July. “As we moved into the fourth quarter, we expected both consumer demand and adoption to ramp at a quicker pace as Blu-ray penetration increased, and that did not happen,” said Davis.

Dolby Labs lowered fiscal 2011 forecasts in its Q1 earnings call last week to $930 million to $970 million total revenue, and $750 million to $780 million for licensing revenue, mainly because of reduced independent software vendor (ISV) revenue and “lower expectations for PC unit growth,” said Murray Demo, chief financial officer. Revenue for the quarter was $242.7 million, up 10 percent year-over-year and 7 percent sequentially. Licensing revenue for the quarter was $188.2 million, up 14 percent year-over-year and 5 percent sequentially, driven by advances in the consumer electronics, broadcast and PC markets, Demo said.

Klipsch Group will be “run as a stand-alone operation in Indianapolis, and will continue under the leadership of the current management team” after its sale to Audiovox, the buyer said late Thursday. No job cuts are expected at Klipsch from the definitive deal that Audiovox signed to acquire the speaker company and its global subsidiaries for $166 million. Audiovox said last month it had signed a non-binding term sheet to buy all shares of Klipsch Group and the subsidiaries (CED Jan 12 p4).

Global LCD TV sales will rise to 222 million units this year, from 190 million in 2010, and jump to 300 million sets by 2014, accounting for 95 percent of TV shipments, Corning Glass Technologies President James Clappin said Friday at a conference in New York.

After surpassing e-waste collection projections for 2010, Washington is weighing adding products to the state’s list of covered electronics. To begin with, the Department of Ecology is looking at including electronic readers to products that must be recycled, said Miles Kuntz, manger of Washington’s E-Cycle program: “We are still doing some research on that.” The state collected 39.5 million pounds of e-waste in 2010, more than a million pounds more than 2009. Washington’s e-waste law took effect in 2009.

Sony’s Q3 profit fell 8.6 percent to $893 million ($1 = 81 yen, the rate in effect on Dec. 31) as sales, hurt by a stronger yen and price erosion in LCD TVs, declined 1.4 percent to $27.24 billion, the company said Thursday. Overall operating income in the quarter ended Dec. 31 fell 5.9 percent to $1.7 billion and was down in most of Sony’s business segments, the company said.

Best Buy is using the Super Bowl stage to launch a Buy Back program it announced in an e-mail blast to “valued customers” Thursday. The ad, featuring Justin Bieber and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, is scheduled to air during the third quarter of the game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. In a letter to customers Thursday, Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn said the program is “future-proofing your technology.” Under the program, consumers buy the technology they want today and Best Buy will buy it back at a set price when consumers are ready to upgrade. “You'll know upfront what your gear will be worth,” he said, and consumers can redeem the Buy Back dollars at stores and “immediately receive a Best Buy gift card."

Harman International reported net operating income of $53 million for the second fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $13 million a year earlier. Net sales were up 3 percent to $956 million, the company said.