Just to sort of echo what you were saying, I couldn't care less what numbers the game got. If anything I prefer the lesser numbers, if the games aims for a certain crowd and that's all they get it's great.
It weeds out the carebears and complainers. Everything just becomes a bit flooded with 11million people. Niche games I think I'd prefer. EVE doesn't have stonking numbers but it aims for a different crowd and is very stable and actually enjoyed.