Sony thrilled PlayStation gamers last night when it unveiled Project Morpheus, the company's own take on a virtual reality headset that will eventually be paired with the PS4. But if you were expecting to see it in the form of a consumer product this year, you're in for disappointment. Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, today told The Verge that the final version of Project Morpheus will not see release in 2014. At this early stage, the company isn't even discussing what that finished product will look like. "As of today, we are not talking about a final product," Yoshida said. "But what I can say, what we can say, is because we are still working on the tech, we can safely say that we will not be releasing the product this year."

The news isn't altogether surprising; Sony has repeatedly emphasized that the device on hand at Game Developers Conference 2014 is an early prototype — the "culmination of our work over the last three years to realize our vision of VR for games, and to push the boundaries of play," said Yoshida. Similar to the approach Oculus has taken, that prototype will serve as a reference to help developers get acquainted with the VR technology. In a blog post on Sony's PlayStation Blog, Yoshida also told commenters that "we are not talking about our final product yet."

But the excitement around Project Morpheus is palpable, and Sony's executives are well aware of that. Asked point blank whether Project Morpheus will ultimately evolve into a commercial product, Yoshida told us, "We want one." Even Oculus isn't willing to reveal when its Rift headset will launch, so it seems we're still far removed from actually seeing a VR product on store shelves.