Ok, then keep your version bare-bones of RE 1, and I'll keep my version of Classic REbirth, localized to English, full of quality of life improvements, and internal bug fixes, which were fixed by MediaKite, and many others by Gemini REbirth.

Capcom didn't pay MediaKite/SourceNext to fix and re-release these games for nothing, without reasons, Capcom knew that the vanilla versions had their (internal) problems, and re-releasing them in Japan for PCs at the time would be a big mistake, even if it were with mere compatibility fixes for Windows XP. Anyway, a lot of work went into the internal code of these Japanese re-releases, a lot of bugs were fixed!

Unfortunately, GOG chose poorly, perhaps due to pure ignorance, or perhaps they (the GOG team) were not in the mood to translate lines and lines of text/dubbing into from Japanese to English from the three RE. Capcom simply doesn't care about GOG's choices, they would have the MediaKite/SourceNext re-releases if they had asked (Capcom is the copyright holder of all RE releases/re-releases), but the Western public is not the habit of be so demanding; and Capcom with GOG are making a profit, so that's what matters for both parties.

Anyway, run to buy RE 2, it's already here, and buy RE 3 when it comes out, in the "name of preservation", because we never know when we'll wake up to the notice of the next delisting... 1 year from now... 2 years... or maybe 3... or 5 years? It will depend on the speed at which the money enters the coffers of those "involved". ;)

The Japanese language version of RE1 IS the MediaKite version so your point is moot. As for there being no Sourcenext version in the Japanese language version of RE2, I still haven't tested it, so I don't know what version is there. Regardless, it seems you can convert the game to the Sourcenext version so again your point is moot. And once again, the fact Capcom is the copyright holder to the Resident Evil series does not guarantee that they are legally entitled to distribute the Sourcenext version. There's simply not knowing what is the legal situation.

There's a myriad of PC games that require user mods to improve or fix the game. Expecting these to always be included in official re-releases is simply unrealistic. It's not the kind of thing game companies will do, it's not worth the headache. As is the case with Resident Evil, either Capcom gets authorization by Gemini REbirth to use his mod or they sue and try to claim it as their own due to it being a derivative work. They're not going to bother with that. Plus, it's a bad practice, in principle. You don't know what the mod's code is like or if it's a risk to the user's system. It's a business risk, not worth it. Yes, there's exceptions, and those exceptions prove the rule.

As for the game delisting, you were promised a DRM-free copy, not an eternal copy. It's your responsibility to back it up. It's up to CAPCOM to decide how long it will be available for purchasing. Buy it if you want, don't if you don't care. Your pirated copy of the game is preserved either way. The fact you consider ONE more extra version to somehow impact preservation negatively is mind boggling.

That's quite the bit of cynicism.

I have several games that have since been delisted, and I can still download them, as GOG keeps them in your library.

Furthermore, what's with the cynicism? I understand it's the GOG forum way, but holy crap. Hell, GOG still has Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, and that's been out yonks. If Capcom was going to pull games on a whim, they'd probably start with that one.

the most likely issue is that they didn't want to deal with the headache of licensing those versions made by third parties. capcom may have a co-ownership in the rights and source code, but not own them outright. usually the third party maintains ownership of their own source code. would require additional permission and negotiation. are those companies even still around?

Completely agree, indeed.

If a game is delisted, we as users are able to still download the respective game. Not purchase a new copy, obviously.

What this user is talking about should be valid for any game available in GOG, and honestly, this is bordering reduction to absurd.