The highlight of Summer Games Done Quick was a really good dog playing 16-bit baseball

With the general news out of the way, let’s talk about the highlight of the week’s stream: a shiba inu named Peanutbutter.

You may remember him. He was a big highlight of Awesome Games Done Quick 2024, when he became the first dog to participate, running Gyromite with the help of its owner, JSR, and a custom controller. Peanut Butter and JSR completed the race remotely, but for the Summer Games Done Quick race, they showed up in person with a brand new controller and a new game: Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball for the Super Nintendo.

I was very worried about this in-person race. To play, JSR, with the help of some food, instructs Peanut Butter to press a button at the correct time to hit a hitter or hit a home run. The patience and concentration required to perform complex tricks like this are probably stressful enough for a dog even without the interruption of a large, noisy crowd. But Peanut Butter managed the distractions beautifully. Whenever the dog’s attention began to wane, JSR refocused him with the best gift: some cheese on a stick.

Midway through the run, things looked bleak for Peanut Butter, which found itself down 0-1 in the sixth inning. But after loading the bases, we all held our breath as we waited to see if Peanut Butter would finally score. He did, and the crowd’s energy was so infectious I felt it three time zones away.

There was a moment when it looked like Peanut Butter wasn’t going to complete his goal of winning the game. Tied and in extra innings, any computer score would immediately result in a loss. But Peanut Butter proved he was the best of the boys, winning the game in dramatic fashion with a home run in the bottom of the 12th inning, scoring with Ken Griffey Jr. himself. The hype was so great that it couldn’t be contained to just the Games audience. Done Quick, and soon Peanut Butter’s exploits appeared in the ESPN.com and Canadian sports channel Sportsnet.

There are, of course, other fun races to watch besides the Peanut Butter Big Baseball Score. O Super Metroid the race was very exciting and incredibly close. There is a Baldur’s Gate 3 run on the hardest difficulty and without exploiting any glitches. And there’s a rush of Super Mario 64 where the runner is blindfolded and the location of each star is random. Each run is available as a VOD on YouTubeand with over 150 plays, you’re sure to find something interesting.

It sounds a little sappy, but there’s something sublime about watching a dog play baseball with thousands of other people. I have an incredibly soft and tender soft spot for dogs, especially those who look and are as smart as peanut butter. It’s hard to be around them, even through a computer screen, without becoming completely overwhelmed. And although I had to do it through a curtain of tears, watching Peanut Butter eased a pain that I still can’t directly name, even a year later.