How should I responsibly preserve retro games: hardware, emulation, ROM backups?

[Jerry.W]

I've been slowly building a collection of physical retro games and consoles, but I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the long-term preservation of both the hardware and the software as cartridges fail and optical discs degrade. I want to do my part to ensure these games remain playable, but I'm caught in an ethical dilemma about the best methods. For other collectors and historians, what are the most reliable and respectful approaches to retro game preservation, such as using FPGA-based hardware versus software emulation, and how do you handle creating and storing ROM backups of games you physically own without contributing to piracy? I believe these works are culturally important and shouldn't be lost.