What if we looked at it as a type of "retro hardware restoration spectrum?"
software emulation -> FPGA reproduction -> ASIC reproduction -> new-run (near-)identical hardware -> restored original hardware
Look at something like the VIC chip in the VIC-20. There's no new parts to reproduce it, but I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman that created an FPGA reproduction of the VIC at #VCFSW a couple years back.
Someone might rightly say "Ok, an FPGA's better than nothing, but a reproduction of the original is what I really want!" Fine! Then the community (or one really bored nerd with the requisite skills 😁) decides to eventually reproduce the VIC in ASIC form, or even a brand new identical open source VIC chip. Problem solved! But until then, the FPGA reproduction is darn nice to have!
Also, there's value in having per-chip FPGA reproductions, as opposed to an entire FPGA-SoC: you can just replace a single broken component.
