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You might have a chance at the NES Classic, SNES Classic

You just need to win ThinkGeek's lottery.

Mike Sorrentino Senior Editor
Mike Sorrentino is a Senior Editor for Mobile, covering phones, texting apps and smartwatches -- obsessing about how we can make the most of them. Mike also keeps an eye out on the movie and toy industry, and outside of work enjoys biking and pizza making.
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Mike Sorrentino
SNES Classic Edition

ThinkGeek is selling the SNES Classic using a random drawing, because first-come-first-serve is still not great.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Even though Nintendo has been making efforts to beef up the supply of their popular Super NES Classic, buying one is still anything but easy. The vintage-themed system seems to sell out incredibly fast every time a store gets them in stock.

ThinkGeek has announced Friday that they will instead be offering their supply of NES Classic and SNES Classic consoles to customers in the form of a random library. The retailer is letting customers sign up to be part of the drawing until Dec. 10, and anyone that "wins" will be sent instructions on Dec. 12 for how they can buy either the NES Classic or the SNES Classic.

Do you want to try for both? Too bad: A ThinkGeek rep told CNET that you can only enter once for either the NES Classic, the SNES Classic or "no preference" -- meaning if you win, ThinkGeek will tell you which console you get to buy.

The SNES Classic's supply issues have been a sore issue since its middle-of-the-night preorder launch last August. While it's great that prospective buyers of Nintendo's nostalgia-driven consoles can get a chance to buy these consoles online without paying a premium price to an eBay seller, the fact that we're now praising a random drawing is still a harsh reality for anyone hoping to nab the system.

Watch this: Unboxing the SNES Classic Edition