It definitely made a difference in my (painful) experience. I crashed from a pedal hitting the ground only once in a lot of riding, and it was when I was clipped in to half-platform pedals, and the outer edge of the platform hit the pavement as I took a sharp corner. The pedal hit the ground, not my foot. I've never had that problem with other pedals that don't stick down (and out) as far. Certainly I'm extrapolating from a single incident, but "Pedal Strike" is a real enough problem on fixed gears to have a name, and that name isn't "foot strike".

What's relevant is what is closest to to the ground as you go through the bottom of the crank rotation while leaned way over in a corner. I don't see how you can get any part of your foot lower at any point than the outer edge of the pedal cage as you lean through a turn.