Gaming corporations are doing their damnedest to get rid of emulation and piracy on top of getting rid of original versions of these games. Sure, we can re-download these things from piracy sites but keep in mind that these sites are constantly being attacked by copyright ghouls. Archive.org or your favourite rom or torrent site might not be around tomorrow. The internet is becoming increasingly corporate and restricted and it’s important that these things not be lost to time and the only versions left are bastardised “remasters” locked behind a subscription to be ended anytime or until the next bastardised remaster comes along.
And if you’re lucky enough to own a physical copy of a game, learn how to dump that shit onto a computer.
The happy medium might be in that era of the PS1 through PS2 when games weren’t just coinsuckers, but were also designed without “online experiences” in mind. Once we got to PS3 and the other 7th generation consoles, we started really getting into awful always-on online shit. I’ve been playing through the Assassins Creed Black Flag on the PS3, and it’s crazy how much of that seeps into what should just be a self-contained game.