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Among 2009’s highs and lows, the game-playing public grew: About two-thirds of Americans now play on traditional game systems, cellphones, websites or social networking sites, according to market trackers at The NPD Group. And six out of 10 U.S. households now own at least one console system, consulting firm Deloitte says. In a record-setting 2008, video games appeared nearly recession-proof. But this year proved the pastime is as vulnerable to the economy as any other.

Customers of the largest online retailers are more satisfied than ever, according to ForeSee Results’ annual report on holiday shoppers. The E-Retail Satisfaction Index surged 7% to 79 on the Index’s 100-point scale, a new all-time high, during the holiday season in the USA. Websites for Macy’s, SonyStyle, the Gap, The Home Shopping Network and Overstock had the greatest increases in satisfaction year-over-year: All five registered increases of at least 10%.

Obama will set to launch vision for NASA, based on the advice of a handful of key advisers in the administration and Congress. Obama, who met Dec. 16 with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, hasn’t said when or how he’ll announce his new policy.

If you’re worried you’ve had too many drinks to get behind the wheel on New Year’s Eve, fear not: There’s an app for that. Just reach for your iPhone, because several apps are now available to tell someone when they’ve reached their legal limit.

Judge Thomas Bower was in the middle of a testy child-support hearing a few weeks ago, when the song Jingle Bells rang through his Black Hawk County courtroom. In the back, a middle-aged woman reached down and silenced her cellphone. The lawyers chuckled. The palpable courtroom tension eased.

Tiger Woods had a “fat lip” but no other visible facial injuries when he met with Florida state troopers four days after the accident outside his home, according to a television report. Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Montes told WESH-TV in Orlando on Wednesday that Woods and his attorney met with troopers on Dec. 1.

Florida coach Urban Meyer was rushed to the hospital with chest pains and a tingling sensation in his side on the morning after the SEC championship game, according to a 911 call obtained by ESPN. The details of the call contradict statements by the university and Meyer that the coach was admitted to the hospital due to dehydration.

Travel trends 2010: travel gurus are reading their crystal balls for the new year, and here are their predictions.

The Department of Homeland Security has served two travel journalists with federal subpoenas forcing them to reveal the sources that provided them with the federal security directive issued to airlines following the failed Christmas Day terror attack. One of those journalists is Christopher Elliott, publisher of travel site elliot. He posted the text of the directive online. The other is Steven Frischling, who authors the Flying With Fish blog, among other ventures.

More guests are seeking free hotel breakfasts and buffets, bypassing pricier restaurants, according to a research group that tracks the restaurant industry. The number of free meals or snacks eaten at hotels this year inched up 1% as of Sept. 30 over the same period in 2008, even as the number of people staying at hotels dropped significantly. That’s in sharp contrast to the number of paid meals eaten in hotel restaurants, which saw a double-digit dip of 14%.