Are your favorite videogames trying to tell you something? Do you yearn to clean after playing the new platformers? Does your game room have that fresh carpet smell? Well if you answered yes to any of these, we may have found the reason.

If it seems like all recent platformers are about cleaning stuff up, then you're not alone. And it's not just Mario, who can be found spraying water trying to clean up graffiti in Super Mario Sunshine. Oh no, it's far more reaching than that. Just take a look at the trend to use the simple vacuum!

There's not a next generation system without a character that Vacuums. On the Xbox, Blinx the TimeSweeper sucks up gems and TiVo-like buttons. On the GameCube, Mario's sidekick gets rid of ghosts in Luigi's Mansion. And strangest of all, on the PlayStation 2, Ape Escape 2001 has you sucking up, well, the pants off the apes (no joke).

Can't wait to see what the next platformer trend is. Perhaps window washing? Or maybe cobweb collection? Or maybe just doing the dishes!