Inaugural PAX East has 52,290 attendees, returns to Boston next March

I figured this was sort of standard (1+ hour queue lines), considering what friends have told me when they attended PAX prime and the old E3.

The convention center was crowded, but wasn't packed per se. I was expecting to wait an average of 60 mins. to get in (line) early for panels.

What I wasn't going to do was wait over an hour to play a game I maybe had some interest in. I'm looking at you Red Dead Redemption and Skate 3.

While I appreciate your desire to promote both accuracy in attendance numbers and Otakon (I feel like I've seen this post verbatim multiple times now either from you or others), the article did not state that there were that many attendees, they merely posted the attendance number. It isn't inaccurate if they are counting the way you say they are, at worst its misleading and if, as you say, most conventions (except Otakon of course) count this way, then they are adhering to an accepted standard for counting. Again not inaccurate, just a formula you don't like.

I'm unclear as to how a person returning to a second or third day of an event isn't worthy of being counted. It's similar to how a Zoo does not differentiate between two different people coming or the same person coming on consecutive days: people through the door are people through the door and for potential presenters and vendors, that's really all that matters. And yes this probably includes people with 3 day passes, but since people are not obligated to come all 3 days just because they have purchased such a pass, the individual attendance of that person over all the days is significant data to remark.

I can't speak for PAX East since I didn't attend, but as far as I can tell they aren't counting people at the door at PAX Prime (the people at the door aren't doing anything but checking passes.) I'd imagine the count would have to be based on the number of total admission days purchased.