GW’s Tau Empire Digital Releases – Worth It?

I have to admit, I am not really collecting my Warhammer 40K books in digital formats yet.

Not that I don’t have an iPad or other devices I could use them on. There simply aren’t many savings on Games Workshop’s digital Codexes over the paper-copy, not to mention that the latter re-sells better on eBay should I choose to do so. The Citadel-Painting guides, in contrast, might be interesting, but I cannot yet bring myself to keep my iPad around my painting area.

Though Games Workshop has been scolded and ridiculed for year for “missing” the digital age, they’ve fully embraced it now. And not only that, they are charging eye-watering premiums for their apps and still sell them like hot cakes.

Here’s what they released for the iPad for their latest Tau Empire release for Warhammer 40K!

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#1 – The Tau Empire Codex - £ 29.99

First up, the new Tau Empire Codex for Warhammer 40K 6th Edition, digital edition.

The production value for the digital Codex is undeniably top-notch. It’s literally only 1 p less than the full-price paper-version from Games Workshop. As long as there still are independent retailers around, it’s pricier than many offers for the hardback Tau Empire Codex out there!

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#2 – Altar of War Tau Empire - £ 4.99

This one is more interesting, if only that Games Workshop’s Altar of War series offers content unavailable elsewhere. The latest Altar of War: Tau Empire has 6 missions for Warhammer 40K using a Tau army (against, ideally, a different one).

While the content for Altar of War is “exclusive”, it’s even slightly more expensive than the Codex at 5 quid for 30 pages (as opposed to 30 quid for 183 pages… not a huge difference admittedly).

Are 40K-players truly so slaved to “official GW-missions” that they’ll pay 5 quid instead of making up missions on their own (or nabbing some tournament-missions online)?

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#3 – How To Paint Tau Empire Miniatures - £ 9.99

Finally the “How To Paint Citadel Miniatures: Tau Empire“.

There’s undeniably a huge, never-ending demand for how-to-paint-guides that not even the deluge of free YouTube-tutorials can ever quench. Kickstarter drives by renowned painters such as James Wappel make bank providing quality advice on how to swing your brush.

Games Workshop would be stupid not to give an official answer to that.

It’s a pity they’ve gutted the White Dwarf painting guides to sell slightly more detailed versions separately for the iPad. I hear these are good. As there are likely no ‘Eavy Metal painting videos forthcoming, these are probably the best “official” how-to-paint-guide you’ll be able to get.

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Looking the “full release” for Tau Empire (excluding the actual miniatures) on Apple’s iStore, you’re in for 45 quid worth of pixels to “get it all”.

Not a bad haul for Games Workshop.

• Are you collecting your Warhammer 40K Codexes on your iPad?
• Have you tried the Altar of War/How to Paint Citadel Miniatures Series?
• Are GW digital releases worth it?

I am looking forward to your comments!

Z.