Yes, sometimes piracy requires cracking, and that is not exactly 1:1 preservation. However, that's merely analogous to the difference between the original Doctor Who videotapes that were wiped, and the off-air U-Matic NTSC recordings that were found. While the latter were not at all the same quality as the original, they were nonetheless useful for preservation, as the color signal was able to be used in many cases with the black-and-white telerecording. If one is unable to preserve a work 1:1, it's nonetheless preferable to preserve it in a slightly modified form, than not preserve it at all.
If a program only exists in cracked form, that's a travesty for sure, but it's better than the program not existing at all. In that case, it's also more likely that the original might be found, if there is awareness of the program's existence from the cracked copy.
I fear this will only get worse with advances in cryptography. The ones spending big bucks to develop these protection systems simply do not care about preservation outside of their vaults. They would much rather see the old works go away, so they don't have to compete with them.
I believe retrogaming to be an anomaly that would not exist today without the piracy of the past. The emulation and piracy scenes of the late 90s and early 2000s were seminal in solidifying retrogaming as a subculture in and of itself.