If we are to glean anything from the recent years of the Electronic Entertainment Expo attendance, 70,000 people is way too many and 7,000 is way too few.

In 2006, E3′s large crowds caused a perception that the event was too bloated to be relevant. Thus, the Entertainment Software Association scaled things way back over the next two years. Then, it was besieged with complaints that the show was too small. Some of gaming’s biggest exhibitors, including Activision Blizzard, started skipping the show.

Thanks to live broadcasts on G4TV and live blogging through outlets such as Gamertell, millions of eyes throughout the world are on the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It’s not just the games and consoles at this industry showcase that are under intense scrutiny, it’s the showcase itself.

After 2008′s E3, gaming luminary than Will Wright called the show the walking dead. Activision opted to skip the 2008 event altogether, holding its own press event at a separate locale and sending a clear message that E3 had issues. Entertainment Software Association CEO Michael Gallagher cautioned against calling this event a return to the old E3, but did promise to deliver the show “the industry deserves.”

Need more proof that the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) is becoming the new E3? Look no further than the attendance numbers for the once-intimate conference: GameDaily is reporting that over 18,000 people attended the five-day event. This breaks the event’s previous attendance record, setting the bar even higher for next year’s iteration (which is set more »