http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=25724
--- Comment #3 from H3g3m0n █▓▒☢☣☠⚛▒▓█ H3g3m0n@gmail.com 2011-01-27 04:48:36 CST --- I might not have been clear in my original description.
This happens when I have a joystick plugged in from a cold boot/before I start wine, not just when I'm plugging it in while the game is running.
In any case, if it's something unsupported, shouldn't it fail gracefully rather than continuously checking for a missing /dev/ entry and causing the game to freeze up?