Launch day timing: does 12:01 AM Pacific actually matter anymore, or is it a myth?

Every launch guide says the same thing: go live at 12:01 AM Pacific so you get the full 24-hour window. But I've now watched enough launches to suspect that's a leftover from an older version of the platform, and that the algorithm and the audience have both changed.

What I actually observe: the first few hours are dominated by people in a similar timezone, most upvotes come from a few concentrated windows during the day, and a late-afternoon launch with a strong push can outperform a midnight launch with a weak one.

But I don't have real data I have vibes and a handful of launch pages I've stared at.

So: if you've launched more than once at different times, did the time actually move the outcome, or did the audience and prep dominate everything? And has anyone seen a launch succeed that went live at, say, 9 AM Pacific? I'm looking for counterexamples specifically.