After spending most of the past few years at a mediocre three-star ranking, Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD) impressed enough top-performing members of our 165,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS community to break into the four-star rank recently. A total of 477 members have given their opinion on the Chinese online gaming company, with many of them offering analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.

Perfect World's recent earnings release and outlook for the coming quarter led many investors to check out of the stock, but some CAPS members were compelled by the dip in the share price to make a bullish call, betting that there's still plenty of growth left.

Its number of paying customers declined in the quarter, but the company was able to generate more average revenue per user, leading to a 47% jump in revenue. It was also able to bring much of that growth to the bottom line, which rose 42% over last year. Though Perfect World gave disappointing revenue guidance for the second quarter, some investors are encouraged that others in the Chinese online gaming sector still have momentum. Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) looks to maintain steady growth in the second quarter and launch new games in upcoming quarters, and Sohu.com (Nasdaq: SOHU) posted record revenues in the first quarter in its online games segment and expects further growth.

While gaming growth in China has attracted U.S. companies, as in Activision Blizzard's (Nasdaq: ATVI) deal with NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) for World of Warcraft, the U.S. is also making progress in online games. Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) recently signed a deal with California company Gaikai to stream online games, and Perfect World is joining a trend of Chinese companies heading West. It has already had success with its flagship game Perfect World International in the U.S., and it recently acquired a majority stake in Runic Games, which should help boost its presence here. Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) made a similar move earlier this year with its purchase of California company Mochi Media, and many investors like this model of capturing growth in multiple markets.

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Fool contributor Dave Mock recently upgraded his favorite pencil with a new eraser tip. He doesn't own shares of companies mentioned here. NetEase, Perfect World, and Sohu are Rule Breakers picks. Activision and Electronic Arts are Stock Advisor recommendations. Motley Fool Options has recommended a synthetic long position on Activision Blizzard, and the Fool owns shares of the company. The Fool's disclosure policy had to back off on its amazing run in World of Warcraft for health reasons.