It’s time to address the elephant in the room: the Mario franchise has a serious problem with pedophilia. This can’t keep happening. For years, the lovable plumber has been depicted as a lecherous old man, constantly chasing after underage girls like Princess Peach and Princess Daisy. Even worse, he’s been shown to have a sexual interest in young boys, like Luigi and Wario. But it’s not just the characters that are problematic. The games themselves often feature suggestive themes and scenarios, including one infamous level in Super Mario World where Mario must navigate a maze of sexual innuendos to reach the end. Goshdarnit, why oh why has Nintendo allowed this behavior to continue? It’s time for them to take a stand and put an end to the pedophilia in their beloved franchise. But the responsibility doesn’t just lie with Nintendo. Kotaku, as a leading gaming news outlet, has a duty to call out this behavior and condemn it. It’s time for us to speak out against the exploitation of children in the Mario franchise, and demand that Nintendo takes steps to fix this problem.