The Olympic commitee is forever looking for ways to make sure more countries are included in the competition. That is why they eliminate sports that 1 or 2 countries dominate(like women's softball), and look for ways to open the doors to make it possible for more countries to contend for a medal in all sports. With 7 competing and 6 scores counting, likely only 4 countries would ever contend for a medal (USA,Russia,China,Romania). When you reduce the team to 5 with 3 scores counting, you open up the playing field to more countries since you only need 3 top gymnasts to make a team. Japan,Britain,Germany,Australia,France,Canada,Italy,Brazil - could all actually contend for a medal if their 3 best hit all of their routines and the top teams don't hit every routine.