Downloading

U.S. gamers spent about the same amount of money on video games last year as they did in 2009, even as sales of consoles and other hardware took a plunge. Purchases of physical game discs slid 5%, in spite of the record-breaking success of "Call of Duty: Black Ops," but downloadable and social-network games made up the difference.

The Universal Music Group and other music labels won a $1.92 million judgment against a Minnesota woman who illegally shared 80 songs with other users over Kazaa, the popular online file-sharing service.That's right: The federal jury decided that the piracy was worth $80,000 per song. The...