yes there is a difference.
However....
You can go 12/12 from clone and fit 144 plants in 4" pots in a 4ftx4ft area, which may yeild .2oz per plant.

You can veg for 4 weeks and fit 40 plants in 6.5" pots in a 4ftx4ft area, which may yeild .6oz per plant.

If you do the math or try some different options you will see that your yield per square foot net's out to be very close.

The decision to be made is how many plants do I want to maintain at any given time.

288 plant in a 4x8 ft box IMO is a LOT of maintainance.


So to answer bluntly - More veg = more yield but less plant per square foot.