If I am remembering correctly, this was also a good time to be in Linux. Since the Linux world operated on source code rather than binary blobs, it was easier to convert software to run 64-bit native. Non-trivial in an age of C, but still much easier than the commercial world. I had a much more native 64-bit system running a couple of years before it was practical in the Windows world.
Well, in the sense of Alpha being the first 64-bit Linux port, and thus having to fix a lot of places where "bitness" assumptions had crept into the codebase.
DEC (Compaq?) had some plans to make cheaper Alpha workstations, and while they managed to drive down the price somewhat, the volumes were never there to make them price-competitive with PC's. (See also the Talos Raptor POWER machines..)
EV6 CPUs could ostensibly use the same chipsets etc. as Athlon (in fact, some Alpha motherboards used Athlon chipsets). That was part of the strategy to increase volume.
It also helps that linux had a much better 32-bit compatibility than windows did. Not sure why but it probably has something to do with legacy support windows shed moving to 64-bits.
Linux was natively written for 32-bit CPUs, so they had no legacy cruft or software to support. IIRC, the first 64 bit port of linux (I think to Alpha?) exposed a lot of code that needed to be rewritten as it assumed 32-bit and/or x86 specifics.
