From your log:
The problem is with the name of your USB joystick, that contains a character ('®') which is illegal for the XML reader but strangely enough goes through the XML writer without being converted to a legal encoding... I'll fix it for next release.
In the mean time, keep using v1.28.2.6 (which does not register the joystick name but just "SpaceNavigator" or "Unknown"), or disable the joystick ("Preferences" -> "Input & camera" tab, "Input controls" sub-tab, "Joystick options" category, tick the "Never try to initialize" check box), then reset the "JoystickInitialized" debug setting.