I don't think y'all are gettin' it. NCSoft is doing something *very* strange, and whatever their plan is, no "oh, that'll be just fine, go ahead and run it!" is going to come until and unless it's
a) resurrected in their possession.
b) sold to another who resurrects it.
Excepting those two, the hacked server method is the only way you'll be able to play the game, as NCSoft is simply uninterested (I would suppose that's the best word?) in the small amount of people who would want this, but very interested in not letting the tech/IP back out into the wild.
And *especially* if it's possible to be sold. Giving anyone the ingredients to The Drink for free means you can't sell The Drink formula to anyone else, as it becomes worthless. Or so the thought goes.