I just saw Dolphin Tale for the first time. This movie was released in September 2011, three years after the indefinite discontinuation of the GameBoy line. I think we can all agree that by that time the GameBoy had well and truly been replaced by the DS and its remodels.
Early in the film, the main character (a young boy) is seen playing Mario Kart DS on a DSi (editor's note: the real-life events this film are based on took place in December 2005, after the release of Mario Kart DS but long before the launch of the DSi. The film clearly takes place during the summer, anyway, so I guess they didn't care about getting the timing right. But this kind of stuff bothers me). However, later in the film the boy's mother says something to the extent of, "For once he's excited about something other than his GameBoy."
I thought that line was interesting. After the global phenomenon of the DS, I would expect most audiences to be able to recognize it. But the writers either thought that audiences would more easily identify with the term "GameBoy" or they thought that this character would be more familiar with that brand than with the DS. Either way, it's a curious choice.
I guess I was just a little surprised that GameBoys are still considered a viable reference in this decade, especially for a movie that seemed to be aimed at a younger audience, many of whom would be DS owners but might never have seen an actual GameBoy before. Apparently that generation is expected to recognize the term, anyway.
